BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1135
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 1135 (Jackson)
As Amended August 11, 2014
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :36-0
PUBLIC SAFETY 7-0 HEALTH 19-0
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|Ayes:|Ammiano, Melendez, |Ayes:|Pan, Maienschein, |
| |Jones-Sawyer, Quirk, | |Ammiano, Bonilla, Bonta, |
| |Skinner, Stone, Waldron | |Ch�vez, Chesbro, Gomez, |
| | | |Gonzalez, Roger |
| | | |Hern�ndez, Lowenthal, |
| | | |Mansoor, Nazarian, |
| | | |Waldron, Patterson, |
| | | |Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, |
| | | |Wagner, Wieckowski |
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APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
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|Ayes:|Gatto, Bigelow, |
| |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian |
| |Calderon, Campos, |
| |Donnelly, Eggman, Gomez, |
| |Holden, Jones, Linder, |
| |Pan, Quirk, |
| |Ridley-Thomas, Wagner, |
| |Weber |
| | |
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SUMMARY : Prohibits sterilization, with limited exceptions, of
an individual under the control of the California Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) or a county correctional
facility, as specified. Specifically, this bill :
1)Prohibits sterilization, for the purpose of birth control, of
any person who is involuntarily confined or detained under a
civil or criminal statute, including inmates in state prison,
reentry facilities, community correctional facilities and
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county jails.
2)States that sterilization of an individual under the control
of CDCR or a county and imprisoned in a state prison, prison
or a reentry facility, community correctional facility, county
jail, or any other institution in which an individual is
involuntarily confined or detained under a civil or criminal
statute, through tubal ligation, hysterectomy, oophorectomy,
salpingectomy, or any other means rendering an individual
permanently incapable of reproducing, is prohibited except in
either of the following circumstances:
a) The procedure is required for the immediate preservation
of the individual's life in an emergency medical situation;
or,
b) The sterilization procedure is medically necessary, as
determined by contemporary standards of evidence-based
medicine, to treat a diagnosed condition, and all of the
following requirements are satisfied:
i) Less invasive measures to address the medical need
are nonexistent, are refused by the individual, or are
first attempted and deemed unsuccessful by the
individual, in consultation with his or her medical
provider;
ii) A second physician independent of, and not employed
by, but authorized to provide services to individuals in
the custody of, and to receive payment for those services
from, CDCR or county department overseeing the
confinement of the individual conducts an in-person
consultation and confirms the need for a medical
intervention resulting in sterilization to address the
medical need; and,
iii) Patient consent is obtained after the individual is
made aware of the full and permanent impact the procedure
will have on his or her reproductive capacity, that
future medical treatment while under the control of CDCR
or county will not be withheld should the individual
refuse consent to the procedure, and the side effects of
the procedure.
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3)Requires that any inmate who undergoes sterilization be
provided with a presterilization and poststerilization
psychological consultation and medical follow-up, including
providing relevant hormone therapy to address surgical
menopause, made available to the individual sterilized while
under the control of CDCR or the county.
4)States that CDCR, if a sterilization is performed on one or
more individuals under its control, shall annually publish on
its Web site data related to the number of sterilizations
performed, disaggregated by race, age, medical justification,
and method of sterilization.
5)Requires each county jail or other institution of confinement,
if a sterilization is performed on one or more individuals
under its control, to annually submit to the Board of State
and Community Corrections (BSCC) data related to the number of
sterilizations performed, disaggregated by race, age, medical
justification, and method of sterilization.
6)Provides that BSCC shall annually publish the data received by
county jails and other institutions of confinement related to
sterilizations performed in those institutions.
7)Requires CDCR and all county jails or other institutions of
confinement to provide notification to all individuals under
their custody and to all employees who are involved in
providing health care services of their rights and
responsibilities under the provisions of this bill.
8)Entitles an employee of CDCR or of a county jail or other
institution of confinement who reports the sterilization of an
individual performed in violation of these provisions to the
protection available under existing law related to retaliation
and whistleblower protections.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Excludes certain medical treatment for incarcerated persons,
including surgery that is not medically necessary, which
specifically includes, but is not limited to, vasectomy and
tubal ligation.
2)Allows treatment for excluded conditions in cases where all of
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the following criteria are met:
a) The inmate's attending physician or dentist prescribed
the treatment as clinically necessary; and,
b) The service is approved by the appropriate Utilization
Management Committee. The committee's decision shall be
based on:
i) Available health and dental care outcome data
supporting the effectiveness of the services as medical
or dental treatment; and,
ii) Other factors, such as: coexisting medical or
dental problems; acuity; length of inmate's sentence;
availability of the service; and, cost.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)Minor and absorbable state costs; CDCR indicates this bill
aligns with their current practice.
2)Potential, likely minor, state-reimbursable mandate costs to
offer additional services and follow specified procedures
related to sterilization, to notify incarcerated individuals
and employees, and to publish reports.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "The Center for
Investigative Reporting, based on information gained through
working with Justice Now, broke a story in 2013 that documented
cases of coerced tubal ligations as late as 2010.
"In addition to coerced tubal ligations, Justice Now also found
an alarming number of incarcerated women who have lost their
reproductive capacity through the overly aggressive use of
hysterectomies. Too often, hysterectomies in prison appear to
be the first option for medical problems, such as fibroids, that
may have more effective and less drastic cures. Many women have
had partial and full hysterectomies while incarcerated that were
later deemed unnecessary.
"Women were robbed of their reproductive choice by these coerced
procedures. Sterilizations that occurred under the watch of
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California's corrections department smack of eugenics. These
acts are unconscionable. It is well past time we put an end to
them and make sure situations like this never happen again."
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion
of this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Stella Choe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744
FN: 0004695