By Corey Johnson
SF Gate
Sacramento — Top state lawmakers said Tuesday that they would pursue legislation to prevent sterilization abuses in prisons.
Sen. Loni Hancock, chairwoman of the Public Safety Committee, made the announcement during a packed hearing at the state Capitol. It was called in response to an investigation by the Center for Investigative Reporting that found nearly 150 women were sterilized from 2006 to 2010 without required state approvals.
Former inmates said prison medical staffers had coerced the women, targeting those deemed likely to return to prison in the future.
Hancock, D-Berkeley, said she hoped a new law would clarify state policy on prison sterilizations, which are allowed only in cases of medical necessity and with high-level state approval.
Sen. Joel Anderson, R-San Diego, vice chairman of the committee, said such legislation would send a signal that the state’s history of forced prison sterilizations from the early 1900s through the 1970s should never be repeated.
Full story: State law in works to limit inmate sterilization