Female inmates sterilized in California prisons without approval

Sal

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Sep 29, 2007
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i wanted to be a smoker like my dad... until he quit, while I was still too young to start.
we really do model, I remember pretending to smoke like my parents with a short pencil.. took me years to break the habit when I started for real
 

Machjo

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Oct 19, 2004
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we really do model, I remember pretending to smoke like my parents with a short pencil.. took me years to break the habit when I started for real

And we model not only for our own kids, but others too. I was influenced by a number of adults in my childhood, some even relative strangers.

Keeping that in mind, I try to be mindful around all kids, even those who are complete strangers to me, whether on the street, bus, etc. In short, I think how would I want others to behave around my kids, and I act accordingly.
 

Sal

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Sep 29, 2007
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And we model not only for our own kids, but others too. I was influenced by a number of adults in my childhood, some even relative strangers.

Keeping that in mind, I try to be mindful around all kids, even those who are complete strangers to me, whether on the street, bus, etc. In short, I think how would I want others to behave around my kids, and I act accordingly.
yes, we are all teachers...a few friends who made it out of their horrendous home life with some relative sanity did so because they felt loved/cared about by *someone*, an aunt/uncle/teacher/family friend. I try to keep that in mind on a daily basis. Kindness can have a profound affect on another human being, it changes lives in ways we may never know.
 

karrie

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Jan 6, 2007
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A point I seem to have missed is that a woman who has five kids while in prison is obviously retarded. Kindest thing they could do is sterilization.

Having five kids, and having been in prison, does not mean she had five kids in prison.

Why exactly is a woman 'retarded' for having had children?
 

karrie

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Jan 6, 2007
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They didn't go to the doctor I get that but it was offered and they said yes. The were repeat offenders who were also pregnant. What is rational and logical can change down the road when there is possible money involved. Who said they were coerced? A convict...LATER.

at least one of the women coming forward refused successfully. But, when, where, and how she was 'offered' a ligation, is a breech of her rights. Ending up in prison does NOT give the state the right to decide that you no longer have the same rights to your body as everyone else.


The saddest part about this story is that it is two faces of disservice. First, as so many here are pointing out, permanent birth control is not a bad thing when voluntary. When you have these women in prison, for some, it will be the only time they will have the luxury of the medical care needed to get a ligation. But, the state doesn't allow it. Consider long and hard why the for profit prison systems wouldn't want prisoners to make informed choices regarding their reproductive options, and choose the simplest, permanent solution.

Second, they have doctors sneaking around behind the scenes, pressuring certain inmates to get ligations, despite the fact that it's against the rules both for them to perform them, and often against the rules in the way they're offering them. That smacks of caste system decision making.

All in all, it reinforces my view of what prison systems are increasingly pushing towards.... the enforcement of community standards, rather than the enforcement of community safety.
 

L Gilbert

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at least one of the women coming forward refused successfully. But, when, where, and how she was 'offered' a ligation, is a breech of her rights. Ending up in prison does NOT give the state the right to decide that you no longer have the same rights to your body as everyone else.


The saddest part about this story is that it is two faces of disservice. First, as so many here are pointing out, permanent birth control is not a bad thing when voluntary. When you have these women in prison, for some, it will be the only time they will have the luxury of the medical care needed to get a ligation. But, the state doesn't allow it. Consider long and hard why the for profit prison systems wouldn't want prisoners to make informed choices regarding their reproductive options, and choose the simplest, permanent solution.

Second, they have doctors sneaking around behind the scenes, pressuring certain inmates to get ligations, despite the fact that it's against the rules both for them to perform them, and often against the rules in the way they're offering them. That smacks of caste system decision making.

All in all, it reinforces my view of what prison systems are increasingly pushing towards.... the enforcement of community standards, rather than the enforcement of community safety.
Yeah, the whole issue to me smacks of Hitler-ish type stuff.
 

karrie

OogedyBoogedy
Jan 6, 2007
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Tubal ligations are also reversable should the person so choose to do so at a later date.

Wrong on two points.

1. A tubal ligation is only reversible if the doctor does it to be reversible. A doctor who WANTS a patient to remain sterile, will remove enough to prevent reconnection. And even a 'reversible' ligation can cause infertility due to scar tissue and resulting ectopic pregnancies.

2. If the only medical care a person gets is when they are in prison, they will not be able to afford reversal.
 

Sal

Hall of Fame Member
Sep 29, 2007
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at least one of the women coming forward refused successfully. But, when, where, and how she was 'offered' a ligation, is a breech of her rights. Ending up in prison does NOT give the state the right to decide that you no longer have the same rights to your body as everyone else.


The saddest part about this story is that it is two faces of disservice. First, as so many here are pointing out, permanent birth control is not a bad thing when voluntary. When you have these women in prison, for some, it will be the only time they will have the luxury of the medical care needed to get a ligation. But, the state doesn't allow it. Consider long and hard why the for profit prison systems wouldn't want prisoners to make informed choices regarding their reproductive options, and choose the simplest, permanent solution.

Second, they have doctors sneaking around behind the scenes, pressuring certain inmates to get ligations, despite the fact that it's against the rules both for them to perform them, and often against the rules in the way they're offering them. That smacks of caste system decision making.

All in all, it reinforces my view of what prison systems are increasingly pushing towards.... the enforcement of community standards, rather than the enforcement of community safety.
hm some good points there that I will think about