1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:07,000 Downloaded from YTS.MX 2 00:00:07,361 --> 00:00:10,625 [soft inspirational music] 3 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:13,000 Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX 4 00:00:15,412 --> 00:00:18,589 [mysterious music] 5 00:00:28,382 --> 00:00:29,383 - [Kelli] I rememberjust looking 6 00:00:29,426 --> 00:00:31,994 at all of the cows and the plains. 7 00:00:35,606 --> 00:00:40,263 And at 19, thinking to myself like wow, 8 00:00:40,307 --> 00:00:43,440 it's so much on this Earth that I haven't seen 9 00:00:43,484 --> 00:00:45,007 and now I'm getting ready to go 10 00:00:45,051 --> 00:00:48,576 spend 15 years of my life in prison. 11 00:00:50,143 --> 00:00:50,839 - [Attorney] Can you speak your full name 12 00:00:50,882 --> 00:00:52,145 for the record please? 13 00:00:52,188 --> 00:00:54,582 - Kelli LeShawn Dillon Thomas. 14 00:00:56,149 --> 00:00:57,106 - [Attorney] Dillon is your maiden name? 15 00:00:57,150 --> 00:00:57,715 - Yes. 16 00:01:00,979 --> 00:01:04,896 I was sentenced for shooting and killing my husband. 17 00:01:06,246 --> 00:01:09,162 The most painful thing 18 00:01:09,205 --> 00:01:12,208 was when the police came to get me 19 00:01:12,252 --> 00:01:15,255 and having to separate between me and my children, 20 00:01:16,952 --> 00:01:19,694 even though I had protected us from a monster. 21 00:01:21,565 --> 00:01:23,393 - [Attorney] The blue marks are afflicted by your husband? 22 00:01:23,437 --> 00:01:24,829 - Yes. - With? 23 00:01:24,873 --> 00:01:26,179 - An iron. 24 00:01:26,222 --> 00:01:26,962 - [Attorney] An iron? 25 00:01:27,005 --> 00:01:28,137 - Yes. 26 00:01:28,181 --> 00:01:28,964 - And this occurred during a fight? 27 00:01:29,007 --> 00:01:30,574 - Yes. 28 00:01:30,618 --> 00:01:32,837 - [Attorney] And he put the iron what, to your neck? 29 00:01:32,881 --> 00:01:36,058 [soft dramatic music] 30 00:01:38,191 --> 00:01:38,756 - Yes. 31 00:01:47,113 --> 00:01:49,811 I'm trying to remember what my children felt like, 32 00:01:49,854 --> 00:01:53,293 their skin felt like, what they breath smelled like. 33 00:01:53,336 --> 00:01:58,036 [dark foreboding music] [inmates shouting] 34 00:02:07,307 --> 00:02:11,920 I cannot believe that my life has come to this. 35 00:02:11,963 --> 00:02:14,401 [gate banging] 36 00:02:16,446 --> 00:02:17,969 I always been a fighter, 37 00:02:19,710 --> 00:02:22,844 but it wasn't truly birthed until I was in prison. 38 00:02:22,887 --> 00:02:26,064 [dark foreboding music] 39 00:02:52,352 --> 00:02:54,223 - It's always hard to figure out what to wear to prison 40 00:02:54,267 --> 00:02:58,488 because you can't wear red, green, brown, khaki, orange 41 00:02:58,532 --> 00:02:59,794 or denim of any color. 42 00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:05,191 When people in prison have a visit, 43 00:03:05,234 --> 00:03:07,105 they have to go through a strip search 44 00:03:07,149 --> 00:03:09,020 and they have to expose themselves 45 00:03:09,064 --> 00:03:11,675 in front of at least one guard, if not many more. 46 00:03:14,374 --> 00:03:16,941 But usually visitors coming in only wear black or white. 47 00:03:16,985 --> 00:03:19,292 And I decided at some point 48 00:03:19,335 --> 00:03:22,686 to bring a level of levity and color into the visits. 49 00:03:25,559 --> 00:03:27,474 Folks inside loved it. 50 00:03:27,517 --> 00:03:29,476 They would see me coming and start giggling and laughing 51 00:03:29,519 --> 00:03:31,391 about what wild shoes I had on. 52 00:03:33,175 --> 00:03:34,350 There was this one correction officer 53 00:03:34,394 --> 00:03:36,831 who was like, "You can't wear those shoes. 54 00:03:36,874 --> 00:03:38,920 And I was like, "Can you point to the rule 55 00:03:38,963 --> 00:03:41,618 that says that these violate any kind of dress code?" 56 00:03:44,447 --> 00:03:46,623 All the correctional officers and the high-level folks 57 00:03:46,667 --> 00:03:47,972 from the Department of Corrections 58 00:03:48,016 --> 00:03:49,800 were always treating me like a small child. 59 00:03:53,587 --> 00:03:56,242 And so at some point, I decided to just own it 60 00:03:56,285 --> 00:03:57,721 and take on the brand of kind of being 61 00:03:57,765 --> 00:03:59,593 like a tacky whipper-snapper. 62 00:04:02,683 --> 00:04:05,686 [crickets chirping] 63 00:04:09,429 --> 00:04:12,127 [soft solemn music] 64 00:04:28,970 --> 00:04:31,146 Waking up and leaving the house before 6:00 in the morning 65 00:04:31,189 --> 00:04:35,019 and driving to prison and spending the day bearing witness 66 00:04:35,063 --> 00:04:37,457 to pretty significant trauma 67 00:04:38,371 --> 00:04:40,634 is really very draining. 68 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:46,509 Whenever you're fighting human rights abuses in prison, 69 00:04:47,597 --> 00:04:49,817 you never know what to expect. 70 00:04:49,860 --> 00:04:52,515 [birds chirping] 71 00:04:59,435 --> 00:05:01,872 - The first thing I remember seeing, 72 00:05:01,916 --> 00:05:04,005 the girls yelling in the cells 73 00:05:05,746 --> 00:05:08,270 and it just looked like top and bottom tier 74 00:05:08,314 --> 00:05:09,315 of caged animals. 75 00:05:11,360 --> 00:05:13,493 Everything was exposed. 76 00:05:13,536 --> 00:05:17,714 You have male officers who can actually look in the cell 77 00:05:17,758 --> 00:05:22,328 and see women sitting on the toilet, changing their pads. 78 00:05:22,371 --> 00:05:24,286 [inmates chattering] 79 00:05:24,330 --> 00:05:27,637 [soft intriguing music] 80 00:05:27,681 --> 00:05:29,987 A few years later, 81 00:05:30,031 --> 00:05:32,642 I began to experience like abdominal pain. 82 00:05:36,037 --> 00:05:39,475 I was told I had a abnormal pap smear 83 00:05:39,519 --> 00:05:43,174 and needed a cone biopsy to look for cancer. 84 00:05:44,915 --> 00:05:48,658 The doctor said that it seems like I had cysts 85 00:05:48,702 --> 00:05:52,053 that was growing on my ovaries. 86 00:05:52,096 --> 00:05:53,750 He asked me how old I was. 87 00:05:53,794 --> 00:05:55,448 I was about 24. 88 00:05:55,491 --> 00:05:57,667 He said, "Do you want any children?" 89 00:05:57,711 --> 00:06:00,366 I said, "Yes, I have two sons already. 90 00:06:00,409 --> 00:06:03,412 And because I'm not gonna have a chance to raise them, 91 00:06:03,456 --> 00:06:07,198 I'm looking forward to meeting someone who actually loves me 92 00:06:07,242 --> 00:06:08,939 and raising more children." 93 00:06:08,983 --> 00:06:11,377 So he said, "If I find cancer, 94 00:06:11,420 --> 00:06:14,118 do you want us to do a hysterectomy?" 95 00:06:14,162 --> 00:06:16,382 And I say, "Yes, if you find cancer." 96 00:06:19,297 --> 00:06:23,563 So me and four other girls were called out to get chained up 97 00:06:23,606 --> 00:06:25,521 in order to go out for surgery. 98 00:06:26,653 --> 00:06:28,394 Everything's assembly line. 99 00:06:28,437 --> 00:06:31,745 We're all handed a piece of paper by two nurses. 100 00:06:31,788 --> 00:06:33,094 They're standing there like, 101 00:06:33,137 --> 00:06:34,617 "You guys need to hurry up and sign." 102 00:06:34,661 --> 00:06:37,577 We're trying to read as much as we can to understand. 103 00:06:37,620 --> 00:06:39,274 But for the most part, we're looking. 104 00:06:39,317 --> 00:06:40,536 They said, "This is for you to consent to the surgery 105 00:06:40,580 --> 00:06:41,972 that you're having today." 106 00:06:42,016 --> 00:06:45,193 [soft intriguing music] 107 00:06:47,761 --> 00:06:50,154 [beeping medical monitor] 108 00:06:56,030 --> 00:06:59,250 When I came out, I felt like something was wrong. 109 00:07:00,904 --> 00:07:02,428 He told me, "Everything is fine. 110 00:07:02,471 --> 00:07:04,604 We took out some cysts." 111 00:07:04,647 --> 00:07:06,127 So then I asked him, 112 00:07:06,170 --> 00:07:07,389 "Will I still be able to have children?" 113 00:07:07,433 --> 00:07:09,086 He was like, "Yeah, I don't see why not." 114 00:07:12,133 --> 00:07:14,657 [phone ringing] 115 00:07:18,400 --> 00:07:19,880 - Can you tell me where you're calling from? 116 00:07:19,923 --> 00:07:22,839 [phone ringing] 117 00:07:22,883 --> 00:07:23,753 Do you mind if I get your name 118 00:07:23,797 --> 00:07:25,276 just in case we're disconnected? 119 00:07:27,888 --> 00:07:29,498 - Are you starting to actually get more hope though 120 00:07:29,542 --> 00:07:30,673 around your own case? 121 00:07:32,762 --> 00:07:35,461 We were getting hundreds of letters 122 00:07:35,504 --> 00:07:37,985 about horrible medical abuses every month. 123 00:07:40,466 --> 00:07:43,512 But then one day, we got this letter from Kelli Dillon 124 00:07:43,556 --> 00:07:47,037 and it was really troubling. 125 00:07:47,081 --> 00:07:50,214 [soft intriguing music] 126 00:07:52,521 --> 00:07:54,131 - [Kelli] It's almost nine months passed 127 00:07:54,175 --> 00:07:56,438 and I haven't had my period. 128 00:07:58,353 --> 00:08:02,357 I got bad panic attacks, heart palpitation, night sweats 129 00:08:02,400 --> 00:08:05,099 and I'm damn near 100 pounds smaller. 130 00:08:05,142 --> 00:08:08,102 [soft intriguing music] [water pattering] 131 00:08:08,145 --> 00:08:10,104 - She was suffering all these symptoms 132 00:08:10,147 --> 00:08:13,150 that were classic symptoms of a surgical menopause, 133 00:08:13,194 --> 00:08:14,935 but she was a young woman in her 20s. 134 00:08:16,414 --> 00:08:17,938 - Cynthia advised me, 135 00:08:17,981 --> 00:08:21,115 "You need to get your medical records." 136 00:08:22,508 --> 00:08:26,947 After six months of fighting to just get my medical records, 137 00:08:26,990 --> 00:08:29,732 Cynthia sat with me in the visiting room 138 00:08:29,776 --> 00:08:31,778 and she read them to me. 139 00:08:33,606 --> 00:08:37,566 "It says that you had abnormal cervical cells." 140 00:08:37,610 --> 00:08:39,829 I asked her, "Did it ever say I have cancer?" 141 00:08:39,873 --> 00:08:42,658 She said, "No, you never had cancer." 142 00:08:46,401 --> 00:08:51,101 I had been intentionally sterilized and I had been lied to. 143 00:08:52,407 --> 00:08:55,541 [soft intriguing music] 144 00:09:00,633 --> 00:09:02,069 - My name is Cynthia Chandler. 145 00:09:02,112 --> 00:09:04,637 I'm the co-director of the Justice Network on Women 146 00:09:04,680 --> 00:09:07,030 which is a new organization based in Oakland 147 00:09:07,074 --> 00:09:09,511 that provides legal services and community organizing 148 00:09:09,555 --> 00:09:11,339 around the needs of women prisoners. 149 00:09:11,382 --> 00:09:14,342 When I got out of law school in 1995, 150 00:09:14,385 --> 00:09:17,388 I didn't know anything about anything happening in prison 151 00:09:17,432 --> 00:09:21,436 until really meeting people who were really living there, 152 00:09:21,479 --> 00:09:23,264 who had to make prison their life. 153 00:09:23,307 --> 00:09:26,223 - I'm HIV and Hep-C co-infected. 154 00:09:26,267 --> 00:09:27,877 I'm self-disclosed. 155 00:09:27,921 --> 00:09:30,576 I had heard some bits and pieces about Cynthia. 156 00:09:30,619 --> 00:09:32,882 She was a young white woman, 157 00:09:32,926 --> 00:09:36,320 a Harvard grad and Cynthia came up to me. 158 00:09:36,364 --> 00:09:39,628 I can't like even imagine what she's got to tell me. 159 00:09:39,672 --> 00:09:42,979 - We're failing to provide the most basic care 160 00:09:43,023 --> 00:09:45,634 to the sickest and most vulnerable of the women 161 00:09:45,678 --> 00:09:47,418 who are in this prison system. 162 00:09:47,462 --> 00:09:49,507 - She's an attorney for compassionate release. 163 00:09:49,551 --> 00:09:50,770 And I was like compassionate release? 164 00:09:50,813 --> 00:09:52,206 Like who does that? 165 00:09:52,249 --> 00:09:56,210 Like who fights for somebody that's going to die 166 00:09:56,253 --> 00:09:58,778 and you fight to get them home? 167 00:09:58,821 --> 00:10:02,912 - Many of us watched Rosemary Willeby die 168 00:10:02,956 --> 00:10:05,088 because the Department of Corrections 169 00:10:05,132 --> 00:10:07,830 refused to acknowledge that she was dying. 170 00:10:07,874 --> 00:10:11,007 Certainly her worst nightmare came true. 171 00:10:11,051 --> 00:10:13,227 She died absolutely alone 172 00:10:13,270 --> 00:10:16,056 surrounded by not a single person who she loved. 173 00:10:17,840 --> 00:10:20,408 - [Theresa] She started making kind of sense to me 174 00:10:20,451 --> 00:10:25,195 how us women need to learn how to defend ourselves legally 175 00:10:26,283 --> 00:10:27,633 and how we need to find a remedy 176 00:10:27,676 --> 00:10:29,983 for human rights violations inside. 177 00:10:30,026 --> 00:10:32,463 It shouldn't be up to an inmate 178 00:10:32,507 --> 00:10:35,205 to have to sit and figure out 179 00:10:35,249 --> 00:10:38,992 what my T-cell count is and what it means to me. 180 00:10:39,035 --> 00:10:41,690 - I watched two women die on my yard 181 00:10:41,734 --> 00:10:44,388 that I was very close to and that I knew. 182 00:10:44,432 --> 00:10:47,000 If I could see that the whites in their eyes 183 00:10:47,043 --> 00:10:50,873 was yellow as a caution sign, why couldn't somebody else? 184 00:10:50,917 --> 00:10:53,006 - [Cynthia] Healthcare is so bleak. 185 00:10:53,049 --> 00:10:55,051 It's hard to imagine it's even by accident. 186 00:10:56,444 --> 00:10:58,011 - [Reporter] Last year, 187 00:10:58,054 --> 00:11:00,143 there were about 150 formal complaints 188 00:11:00,187 --> 00:11:01,884 filed by inmates every month 189 00:11:01,928 --> 00:11:04,321 from allegations of incompetence 190 00:11:04,365 --> 00:11:07,498 to actual charges of sexual harassment. 191 00:11:07,542 --> 00:11:08,891 - We have healthcare staff 192 00:11:08,935 --> 00:11:10,850 who you go in for a cut on the finger 193 00:11:10,893 --> 00:11:12,982 likes to give you a pap smear. 194 00:11:13,026 --> 00:11:15,811 - For a chest cold, "Lemme do a pap smear." 195 00:11:15,855 --> 00:11:17,291 - I've heard inmates tell me 196 00:11:17,334 --> 00:11:21,382 that they would deliberately like to be examined. 197 00:11:21,425 --> 00:11:22,992 The only male contact they get. 198 00:11:23,036 --> 00:11:25,168 - You're telling me they're coming in here 199 00:11:25,212 --> 00:11:28,911 in effect asking for them as some sort of titillation? 200 00:11:28,955 --> 00:11:30,347 - It could very be, could very well be. 201 00:11:32,523 --> 00:11:35,657 [soft intriguing music] 202 00:11:35,701 --> 00:11:37,267 - California's women's prisons 203 00:11:37,311 --> 00:11:41,707 have always had a horrific track record of medical care. 204 00:11:41,750 --> 00:11:45,145 - This Friday, Judge Thelton Henderson delivered a ruling 205 00:11:45,188 --> 00:11:47,234 that charged deplorable conditions 206 00:11:47,277 --> 00:11:49,976 in state prisoner medical care. 207 00:11:50,019 --> 00:11:54,720 - They had doctors and what looked like broom closets 208 00:11:55,503 --> 00:11:56,939 seeing prisoners. 209 00:11:56,983 --> 00:12:00,116 And I went and saw them standing in line, 210 00:12:00,160 --> 00:12:02,031 the ceiling was dripping water 211 00:12:02,075 --> 00:12:04,425 and they were standing in half-inch of water 212 00:12:04,468 --> 00:12:05,731 waiting to be seen. 213 00:12:07,645 --> 00:12:08,777 - [Cynthia] The federal courts 214 00:12:08,821 --> 00:12:10,344 took over the whole healthcare system 215 00:12:10,387 --> 00:12:12,607 for California's prisons 216 00:12:12,650 --> 00:12:16,132 and placed it under federal receivership 217 00:12:16,176 --> 00:12:19,875 to bring the healthcare up to constitutional standards. 218 00:12:21,572 --> 00:12:22,791 - You know, people would say, 219 00:12:22,835 --> 00:12:24,227 "Well how dare you know, a receiver 220 00:12:24,271 --> 00:12:25,576 or somebody come into our house 221 00:12:25,620 --> 00:12:27,535 and tell us how to do things." 222 00:12:27,578 --> 00:12:29,580 CDC is punishment 223 00:12:31,626 --> 00:12:33,846 and there was a lot of pushback 224 00:12:33,889 --> 00:12:37,763 on adding rehabilitation to just CDC and making it CDCR. 225 00:12:40,287 --> 00:12:42,768 They really saw the receivership is a threat. 226 00:12:46,597 --> 00:12:48,338 I worked at the Central California Women's Facility 227 00:12:48,382 --> 00:12:50,427 for about 17 years. 228 00:12:50,471 --> 00:12:53,953 [wind chimes chiming] 229 00:12:53,996 --> 00:12:55,606 People that do things for image 230 00:12:55,650 --> 00:12:58,131 or that try to ensure that they get their care, 231 00:12:58,174 --> 00:12:59,523 they're called inmate lovers. 232 00:12:59,567 --> 00:13:01,090 You're an inmate lover. 233 00:13:01,134 --> 00:13:03,397 [water trickling] 234 00:13:03,440 --> 00:13:04,746 I have some fear. 235 00:13:04,790 --> 00:13:06,530 What kind of repercussions will I get 236 00:13:06,574 --> 00:13:08,706 for coming home and talking about this? 237 00:13:10,708 --> 00:13:13,668 I took an oath when I graduated from nursing school 238 00:13:13,711 --> 00:13:15,626 and it's that you do no harm. 239 00:13:15,670 --> 00:13:17,063 But inmates become numbers. 240 00:13:18,151 --> 00:13:19,717 You don't get names 241 00:13:19,761 --> 00:13:22,024 and that's what makes it easy to abuse them. 242 00:13:22,068 --> 00:13:26,812 [soft foreboding music] [birds chirping] 243 00:13:30,076 --> 00:13:32,948 [inmates chattering] 244 00:13:32,992 --> 00:13:36,082 - I was sitting down in the middle of the yard. 245 00:13:36,125 --> 00:13:38,824 I see this young African-American girl 246 00:13:38,867 --> 00:13:41,827 walk out of the medical building 247 00:13:41,870 --> 00:13:44,438 and she's holding her abdomen area. 248 00:13:44,481 --> 00:13:46,527 And I said, "I know it's not my business 249 00:13:46,570 --> 00:13:50,444 but what kinda surgery did you have?" 250 00:13:50,487 --> 00:13:53,229 She said, "I had to get a partial hysterectomy." 251 00:13:53,273 --> 00:13:54,883 I said, "For what?" 252 00:13:54,927 --> 00:13:57,494 She said, "Oh, they said I had abnormal cells." 253 00:13:57,538 --> 00:14:00,367 And then that's when the light bulb went off. 254 00:14:02,543 --> 00:14:04,023 Why's it all of a sudden 255 00:14:04,066 --> 00:14:06,895 we got all of these reproductive problems? 256 00:14:06,939 --> 00:14:09,463 That's when I was like, "Aw nah, this don't sound right." 257 00:14:11,073 --> 00:14:13,554 I made a phone call back to Cynthia. 258 00:14:15,338 --> 00:14:17,688 I think that they been doing this to other women. 259 00:14:21,388 --> 00:14:23,912 I started carrying a briefcase with forms 260 00:14:23,956 --> 00:14:26,915 so I could help people contact Justice Now. 261 00:14:26,959 --> 00:14:30,005 [soft intriguing music] 262 00:14:31,920 --> 00:14:33,748 [door banging] 263 00:14:33,791 --> 00:14:35,968 - Thanks to Kelli's organizing 264 00:14:36,011 --> 00:14:38,927 we were able to uncover a dozen instances 265 00:14:38,971 --> 00:14:42,539 of people being sterilized during other kinds of surgeries. 266 00:14:54,247 --> 00:14:56,553 [soft solemn music] 267 00:14:56,597 --> 00:14:59,121 - [Inmate] I put in a request to see the doctor 268 00:14:59,165 --> 00:15:01,341 because I've had bad cramps. 269 00:15:01,384 --> 00:15:04,213 And he said, "You have fibroid tumors 270 00:15:04,257 --> 00:15:06,215 and severe endometriosis, 271 00:15:06,259 --> 00:15:09,349 so that causes a higher risk of cervical cancer." 272 00:15:11,525 --> 00:15:13,353 And he talked me into a hysterectomy. 273 00:15:13,396 --> 00:15:16,399 [soft solemn music] 274 00:15:19,707 --> 00:15:23,145 Four years later, I went to an OB-GYN doctor. 275 00:15:23,189 --> 00:15:27,933 I asked him, "Did I have tumors and endometriosis?" 276 00:15:29,673 --> 00:15:31,458 And he said, "I don't see any of that on here." 277 00:15:33,634 --> 00:15:35,941 "He gave me hysterectomy for severe cramps?" 278 00:15:37,638 --> 00:15:39,857 - [Inmate] He did a pelvic exam. 279 00:15:39,901 --> 00:15:40,728 - [Inmate] He gave me some kinda test 280 00:15:40,771 --> 00:15:43,165 and said I had some fibroid. 281 00:15:43,209 --> 00:15:46,038 - [Inmate] I was told that I had cancer cells. 282 00:15:46,081 --> 00:15:47,387 - [Inmate] They told me that I had to have 283 00:15:47,430 --> 00:15:48,388 my ovaries removed. 284 00:15:48,431 --> 00:15:50,216 I had no choice. 285 00:15:50,259 --> 00:15:51,304 - [Inmate] We actually used to call 'em 286 00:15:51,347 --> 00:15:52,609 the surgeries of the month 287 00:15:52,653 --> 00:15:54,176 because they were happening so frequently. 288 00:15:54,220 --> 00:15:56,613 So many people were getting hysterectomies. 289 00:15:56,657 --> 00:15:58,746 That was a cure-all. That's what it was. 290 00:16:15,110 --> 00:16:17,591 - It's usually impossible to find representation 291 00:16:17,634 --> 00:16:19,332 for people who are harmed in prison 292 00:16:19,375 --> 00:16:23,466 because the cases are both too difficult and too costly 293 00:16:23,510 --> 00:16:25,381 and no attorneys will take them. 294 00:16:26,513 --> 00:16:29,995 In Kelli's case, the harm was so egregious 295 00:16:30,038 --> 00:16:32,171 that we were able to secure pro bono 296 00:16:32,214 --> 00:16:35,652 one of the best law firms in the state to represent her. 297 00:16:35,696 --> 00:16:37,480 - Although the fight was in me, 298 00:16:37,524 --> 00:16:41,528 I was very much intimidated by whom I was goin' up against. 299 00:16:42,964 --> 00:16:44,357 - [Attorney] I saw that you had a number of health issues 300 00:16:44,400 --> 00:16:46,011 after surgery. 301 00:16:46,054 --> 00:16:49,492 - I felt like I was losing a lot of weight at the time. 302 00:16:49,536 --> 00:16:51,059 I was in a lot of pain. 303 00:16:51,103 --> 00:16:53,235 I thought that I was dying. 304 00:16:53,279 --> 00:16:55,455 - [Attorney] What did you weigh when you into prison? 305 00:16:55,498 --> 00:16:58,414 - Like 235 pounds. 306 00:17:00,242 --> 00:17:01,200 - [Attorney] What was the least that you weighed? 307 00:17:01,243 --> 00:17:02,897 - 118 pounds. 308 00:17:04,072 --> 00:17:05,813 The doctor thought maybe I was a hypochondriac. 309 00:17:06,988 --> 00:17:08,424 And he said, "that, um- 310 00:17:09,947 --> 00:17:12,080 that I should be happy that I had lost weight. 311 00:17:12,124 --> 00:17:14,126 So many women would love to have lost 312 00:17:14,169 --> 00:17:15,953 the amount of weight that I've lost. 313 00:17:15,997 --> 00:17:18,956 One doctor told me, "Well how do you expect 314 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:21,350 someone to treat you 315 00:17:21,394 --> 00:17:22,351 if you are, 316 00:17:23,744 --> 00:17:25,050 suing them?" 317 00:17:25,093 --> 00:17:26,703 - [Attorney] I'm gonna bounce around that. 318 00:17:26,747 --> 00:17:29,576 Other than the offense that you're currently in on, 319 00:17:29,619 --> 00:17:31,317 did you have any other convictions? 320 00:17:31,360 --> 00:17:33,449 - No. - The circumstances 321 00:17:33,493 --> 00:17:35,930 that led to your current incarceration, tell me about that. 322 00:17:41,457 --> 00:17:44,156 You need to take a break? 323 00:17:44,199 --> 00:17:46,201 - They would have her recount 324 00:17:46,245 --> 00:17:48,551 everything about her commitment offense 325 00:17:48,595 --> 00:17:50,553 because they're looking for evidence 326 00:17:50,597 --> 00:17:52,642 of her being someone who lies, 327 00:17:52,686 --> 00:17:57,125 of her being someone who is lacking of character. 328 00:17:57,169 --> 00:17:58,344 - [Attorney] How many times 329 00:17:58,387 --> 00:17:59,997 did you receive medical treatment 330 00:18:00,041 --> 00:18:01,738 for injuries you suffered as a result of domestic violence? 331 00:18:03,523 --> 00:18:05,177 - Numerous. I can't, 332 00:18:05,220 --> 00:18:06,700 I don't know. 333 00:18:06,743 --> 00:18:08,484 I don't have a specific number. 334 00:18:08,528 --> 00:18:10,617 - [Attorney] Can you gimme an estimate? 335 00:18:10,660 --> 00:18:11,705 Five, 10, 20? 336 00:18:14,664 --> 00:18:17,537 - You know, my heart had already been broken. 337 00:18:17,580 --> 00:18:20,279 My spirit had already been crushed. 338 00:18:20,322 --> 00:18:22,672 I didn't have nothin' to lose. 339 00:18:22,716 --> 00:18:25,719 [soft solemn music] 340 00:18:29,375 --> 00:18:32,552 My attorneys postponed the trial until I actually paroled. 341 00:18:35,250 --> 00:18:40,037 I felt like I was going to get a real chance. 342 00:18:43,693 --> 00:18:45,260 I don't know, I just thought that 343 00:18:45,304 --> 00:18:48,133 like maybe this was the beginning of the tables turning. 344 00:18:49,482 --> 00:18:51,701 - [Cynthia] The smoking gun in her case 345 00:18:51,745 --> 00:18:55,140 was that they cut off the blood supply to her ovaries 346 00:18:55,183 --> 00:18:58,273 and removed them, dissected them 347 00:18:58,317 --> 00:19:00,232 and they were never supposed to do any of that. 348 00:19:02,669 --> 00:19:05,367 - [Attorney] You knew that your ovaries produce the eggs 349 00:19:05,411 --> 00:19:07,152 and an egg was required to have a baby. 350 00:19:07,195 --> 00:19:08,327 - Yes. 351 00:19:08,370 --> 00:19:09,632 - [Attorney] In your complaint, 352 00:19:09,676 --> 00:19:10,851 it's alleged that if you'd had known 353 00:19:10,894 --> 00:19:12,461 there was a possibility that your ovaries 354 00:19:12,505 --> 00:19:14,594 might have been removed during the surgery 355 00:19:14,637 --> 00:19:16,552 you would not have consented to it. 356 00:19:16,596 --> 00:19:18,250 - Yes. - Was the plan 357 00:19:18,293 --> 00:19:20,121 that if he found cancer at surgery, 358 00:19:20,165 --> 00:19:22,515 that he was going to add that same surgery 359 00:19:22,558 --> 00:19:23,690 to a partial hysterectomy? 360 00:19:25,126 --> 00:19:26,780 - That was my understanding. 361 00:19:26,823 --> 00:19:29,391 - She consented to removing everything 362 00:19:29,435 --> 00:19:31,828 if and only if she had cancer 363 00:19:31,872 --> 00:19:34,527 and it had spread and was invasive. 364 00:19:34,570 --> 00:19:36,137 She didn't have cancer. 365 00:19:36,181 --> 00:19:37,530 - [Attorney] At any point 366 00:19:37,573 --> 00:19:39,358 while you were at Madera Community Hospital, 367 00:19:39,401 --> 00:19:40,794 did anybody tell you that all of your ovaries 368 00:19:40,837 --> 00:19:42,143 had been removed? 369 00:19:42,187 --> 00:19:43,710 - No. 370 00:19:43,753 --> 00:19:45,015 - [Attorney] When's the first time a doctor 371 00:19:45,059 --> 00:19:46,321 told you that you may be missing your ovaries? 372 00:19:46,365 --> 00:19:47,931 - No one ever told me that. 373 00:19:47,975 --> 00:19:49,106 - [Attorney] No medical doctors ever said that to you. 374 00:19:49,150 --> 00:19:49,803 - No. 375 00:19:51,979 --> 00:19:55,548 The jury was predominantly white from Fresno County. 376 00:19:57,332 --> 00:19:59,160 I'm looking at this jury 377 00:20:01,206 --> 00:20:04,905 hoping that they would say, "This is wrong. 378 00:20:04,948 --> 00:20:06,950 No matter what or why she was there, 379 00:20:06,994 --> 00:20:08,561 she didn't deserve this to happen to her. 380 00:20:09,953 --> 00:20:12,260 - After a seven-day trial, 381 00:20:12,304 --> 00:20:16,221 the jury believed the doctors' versions of events 382 00:20:16,264 --> 00:20:18,353 that Kelli knew something was wrong 383 00:20:18,397 --> 00:20:20,399 at the end of the surgery, 384 00:20:20,442 --> 00:20:23,532 that she then missed the time she had to bring a claim 385 00:20:23,576 --> 00:20:26,231 under the statute of limitations 386 00:20:26,274 --> 00:20:30,235 and they use that to just dismiss all of her claims. 387 00:20:32,541 --> 00:20:37,067 - I watch my lead attorney as well as her team 388 00:20:37,111 --> 00:20:41,246 walk out the room and tears begin to roll down their eyes. 389 00:20:44,292 --> 00:20:45,902 And I just looked at them and I said, 390 00:20:45,946 --> 00:20:48,905 "Thank you for fighting for me 391 00:20:50,777 --> 00:20:53,170 even if it was just for the fight." 392 00:20:53,214 --> 00:20:55,912 [soft solemn music] 393 00:20:57,349 --> 00:20:59,438 - Question 43, 394 00:20:59,481 --> 00:21:02,397 If you found for a plaintiff on any of her claims 395 00:21:02,441 --> 00:21:04,312 and found that those claims were not barred 396 00:21:04,356 --> 00:21:06,488 by any statute of limitations, 397 00:21:06,532 --> 00:21:09,448 what total damages do you award Ms. Thomas? 398 00:21:09,491 --> 00:21:10,492 Zero dollars. 399 00:21:12,842 --> 00:21:13,669 Zero dollars. 400 00:21:15,105 --> 00:21:15,628 Zero dollars. 401 00:21:19,284 --> 00:21:22,199 - I was looking at these documents 402 00:21:22,243 --> 00:21:26,247 that was confirming that as a Black woman 403 00:21:26,291 --> 00:21:28,336 my life wasn't shit. 404 00:21:28,380 --> 00:21:29,642 It didn't mean anything. 405 00:21:29,685 --> 00:21:31,121 It had no purpose. 406 00:21:32,427 --> 00:21:35,604 [soft intriguing music] 407 00:22:03,197 --> 00:22:06,200 I really couldn't enjoy my coming home. 408 00:22:08,637 --> 00:22:10,683 My mind was in a trial 409 00:22:10,726 --> 00:22:13,512 for the first three months of my freedom. 410 00:22:17,037 --> 00:22:19,953 This photo album I kept with me in prison. 411 00:22:23,173 --> 00:22:24,479 This is my favorite picture, 412 00:22:24,523 --> 00:22:26,394 Anthony comin' to visit me in prison. 413 00:22:29,571 --> 00:22:33,445 Outta the 15 years I was there, we had about five visits. 414 00:22:38,145 --> 00:22:40,669 When I left, my sons was two and four. 415 00:22:40,713 --> 00:22:42,279 So I'm watching my children grow up 416 00:22:42,323 --> 00:22:43,759 on the other side of a glass. 417 00:22:45,935 --> 00:22:46,675 It was hard. 418 00:22:49,156 --> 00:22:53,421 When I came home, they were 16 and 18 years old. 419 00:22:56,119 --> 00:22:58,339 I begin to hear from my children, 420 00:22:58,383 --> 00:22:59,645 "You didn't have to go to prison. 421 00:22:59,688 --> 00:23:00,559 You chose to." 422 00:23:03,257 --> 00:23:05,738 I said, "Did they ever tell you how much I loved you? 423 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:09,394 Did they ever tell you of what I did 424 00:23:09,437 --> 00:23:12,397 in order to make sure that a hand was never laid on you?" 425 00:23:17,576 --> 00:23:20,274 I posted this up on my Facebook 426 00:23:20,317 --> 00:23:22,798 and it said, "This is what domestic violence looks like." 427 00:23:26,411 --> 00:23:27,977 Looking at this picture, 428 00:23:28,021 --> 00:23:30,545 you can never see that I was a victim of domestic violence 429 00:23:32,068 --> 00:23:34,549 'cause it looks like we madly in love, you know? 430 00:23:34,593 --> 00:23:37,596 [soft solemn music] 431 00:23:49,434 --> 00:23:52,045 [birds chirping] 432 00:23:54,439 --> 00:23:56,353 - [Kids] Come on. 433 00:23:56,397 --> 00:23:57,659 - [Cynthia] Okay. 434 00:23:57,703 --> 00:23:58,921 Here, I'll get the door for you. 435 00:24:00,314 --> 00:24:02,751 [hen clucking] 436 00:24:04,840 --> 00:24:06,668 - Oh. - Oh. 437 00:24:06,712 --> 00:24:07,974 - Gross. 438 00:24:08,017 --> 00:24:09,323 - [Sophia] That was a rotten egg too. 439 00:24:09,366 --> 00:24:10,237 - Okay then. - I don't know 440 00:24:10,280 --> 00:24:12,413 if I wanna pick up the next one. 441 00:24:12,457 --> 00:24:14,284 - This one's okay. 442 00:24:14,328 --> 00:24:16,765 [birds chirping] 443 00:24:26,079 --> 00:24:28,473 - My mom- - My mom is eccentric. 444 00:24:28,516 --> 00:24:30,039 - My mom is 445 00:24:31,388 --> 00:24:32,912 weird, yeah. 446 00:24:34,391 --> 00:24:37,133 Professionally, she's a person who gets people outta prison. 447 00:24:37,177 --> 00:24:41,877 And for fun, she's just like bleh and spazzes out. 448 00:24:41,921 --> 00:24:43,444 - She talks to people 449 00:24:43,488 --> 00:24:46,012 and then she writes stuff on the computer 450 00:24:46,055 --> 00:24:48,362 and then she makes sure people does stuff. 451 00:24:48,405 --> 00:24:49,668 - She has meetings a lot. 452 00:24:49,711 --> 00:24:51,321 - Yeah. 453 00:24:51,365 --> 00:24:53,628 - [Lilah] And she goes to a prison in the desert a lot. 454 00:24:53,672 --> 00:24:55,500 - [Sophia] And then she'd cry. 455 00:24:55,543 --> 00:24:56,631 - She cries a lot. 456 00:24:56,675 --> 00:24:57,632 - For a long time. - Yeah. 457 00:24:59,591 --> 00:25:02,550 - Activism's very labor-intensive and annoying 458 00:25:02,594 --> 00:25:03,682 and I would not do it. 459 00:25:06,119 --> 00:25:08,295 It's important but boring. 460 00:25:08,338 --> 00:25:10,123 - Yeah. - I'd rather do genetics. 461 00:25:10,166 --> 00:25:11,559 - Ditto. 462 00:25:11,603 --> 00:25:13,648 - You don't even know what genetics are. 463 00:25:13,692 --> 00:25:15,694 - I know, right? [chuckles] 464 00:25:15,737 --> 00:25:18,697 [soft solemn music] 465 00:25:20,612 --> 00:25:23,179 - I grew up in a really controlled household. 466 00:25:24,529 --> 00:25:28,707 My house was our museum-perfect, photo-ready at all times. 467 00:25:31,623 --> 00:25:34,277 I'm doing things that were just in the face 468 00:25:34,321 --> 00:25:36,279 of what social norms and standards were. 469 00:25:36,323 --> 00:25:38,934 It was very key to my teenage years 470 00:25:38,978 --> 00:25:41,589 of rebelling against my household. 471 00:25:41,633 --> 00:25:44,244 I was the only girl in my entire school with a Mohawk. 472 00:25:45,462 --> 00:25:46,725 There were kids in my school who were like, 473 00:25:46,768 --> 00:25:50,598 "Why do you look so weird?" [chuckles] 474 00:25:50,642 --> 00:25:51,817 "Why do you do this?" 475 00:25:53,906 --> 00:25:56,691 I found a sense of community and comradery 476 00:25:56,735 --> 00:26:00,173 with teens that were living and working on the streets. 477 00:26:02,131 --> 00:26:05,613 We used to hang out by the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia 478 00:26:05,657 --> 00:26:07,963 and snarl and make faces. 479 00:26:08,007 --> 00:26:09,791 We'll have our punk regalia on 480 00:26:09,835 --> 00:26:12,011 and charge like five bucks a picture from tourists. 481 00:26:12,054 --> 00:26:14,143 So there could be something as innocent as that 482 00:26:14,187 --> 00:26:18,626 to people selling drugs to people selling sex, 483 00:26:18,670 --> 00:26:22,282 basically doing whatever they had to do to get by. 484 00:26:24,284 --> 00:26:27,896 You couldn't hang out with kids in the 1980s 485 00:26:27,940 --> 00:26:29,811 in the emergence of the HIV epidemic 486 00:26:29,855 --> 00:26:33,467 and not understand the horrors of policing, 487 00:26:33,510 --> 00:26:34,990 the horrors of what happens 488 00:26:35,034 --> 00:26:36,426 when people don't have access to healthcare, 489 00:26:36,470 --> 00:26:38,298 the horrors of racism. 490 00:26:38,341 --> 00:26:39,995 All of this stuff all intertwined. 491 00:26:42,302 --> 00:26:44,434 I could be with those kids in the same street corner 492 00:26:44,478 --> 00:26:46,654 and my life was gonna turn out differently 493 00:26:46,698 --> 00:26:49,048 because of my class privilege and racial privilege. 494 00:26:52,791 --> 00:26:54,531 And so I felt like it behooved me 495 00:26:54,575 --> 00:26:55,924 to do something to change that. 496 00:27:08,937 --> 00:27:12,114 We were all really optimistic about Kelli's case. 497 00:27:12,158 --> 00:27:14,073 It seemed like one of those rare instances 498 00:27:14,116 --> 00:27:15,944 where we really could see justice happen. 499 00:27:17,772 --> 00:27:19,992 When she lost, it was just devastating. 500 00:27:23,169 --> 00:27:26,520 And then suddenly, a whistleblower sent us the minutes 501 00:27:26,563 --> 00:27:27,956 of a recent committee meeting 502 00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:29,741 of the California Department of Corrections. 503 00:27:32,178 --> 00:27:33,483 I was trying to figure out what to search for 504 00:27:33,527 --> 00:27:36,225 and I thought for sure it would be hidden. 505 00:27:36,269 --> 00:27:37,574 And then I saw the header: 506 00:27:37,618 --> 00:27:39,489 "Birth Control and Sterilization". 507 00:27:39,533 --> 00:27:40,665 Right there. 508 00:27:40,708 --> 00:27:42,188 [soft intriguing music] 509 00:27:42,231 --> 00:27:44,712 Their research showed it would be very cost-effective 510 00:27:44,756 --> 00:27:46,671 to sterilize women during labor and delivery. 511 00:27:49,761 --> 00:27:51,719 - They were discussing within their meeting 512 00:27:51,763 --> 00:27:54,330 about how to reclassify tubal ligation 513 00:27:54,374 --> 00:27:55,680 as medically necessary 514 00:27:55,723 --> 00:27:57,856 in order for it to be paid for by the state. 515 00:27:57,899 --> 00:27:59,684 - Federal and state laws prohibit 516 00:27:59,727 --> 00:28:01,598 sterilizing people in prison 517 00:28:01,642 --> 00:28:03,470 for the purpose of birth control, 518 00:28:03,513 --> 00:28:05,037 but they were doing it anyway. 519 00:28:06,473 --> 00:28:10,869 So we sent a list of questions to the Federal Receivership. 520 00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:13,785 The whole job of that office is to make sure 521 00:28:13,828 --> 00:28:15,961 the laws are followed in healthcare delivery in the prisons. 522 00:28:17,179 --> 00:28:18,398 One of the questions was had 523 00:28:18,441 --> 00:28:20,487 they in fact started sterilizing women 524 00:28:20,530 --> 00:28:21,749 during labor and delivery? 525 00:28:23,620 --> 00:28:24,926 And the response was that yes, they were doing that 526 00:28:24,970 --> 00:28:26,145 at two women's prisons. 527 00:28:29,104 --> 00:28:32,020 This was signed by the Federal Receiver himself. 528 00:28:32,064 --> 00:28:36,155 And could he be so clueless that he wouldn't even know 529 00:28:36,198 --> 00:28:38,940 that he had just like stuck his foot in his mouth? 530 00:28:38,984 --> 00:28:42,161 [soft intriguing music] 531 00:28:43,292 --> 00:28:44,772 Any hearing that came up 532 00:28:44,816 --> 00:28:47,949 that even touched on women's prisons I would go. 533 00:28:47,993 --> 00:28:51,953 So there's a federal law that made it illegal 534 00:28:51,997 --> 00:28:55,827 for any entity that gets federal dollars to sterilize people 535 00:28:55,870 --> 00:28:58,046 for the purpose of birth control who are in prisons. 536 00:28:58,090 --> 00:29:00,048 And then I would present people the minutes 537 00:29:00,092 --> 00:29:03,051 and I would say, "Hey, this state has recommended this. 538 00:29:03,095 --> 00:29:04,313 This is outrageous. 539 00:29:04,357 --> 00:29:06,054 This is illegal under federal law." 540 00:29:06,098 --> 00:29:09,014 They see that as a cost-effective moment, 541 00:29:09,057 --> 00:29:12,452 an opportune moment in which to sterilize people. 542 00:29:12,495 --> 00:29:13,975 - We're assured that, "No, no. 543 00:29:14,019 --> 00:29:15,803 That was just something that 544 00:29:15,847 --> 00:29:17,109 people talked about in that meeting, 545 00:29:17,152 --> 00:29:18,719 but they actually weren't gonna do," 546 00:29:18,763 --> 00:29:20,677 or, "It was just on the side. 547 00:29:20,721 --> 00:29:22,462 It wasn't a big deal. 548 00:29:22,505 --> 00:29:24,029 They're not actually doing that. 549 00:29:24,072 --> 00:29:25,857 Just don't worry your pretty little heads." 550 00:29:25,900 --> 00:29:28,816 - We were met with comments like, 551 00:29:28,860 --> 00:29:31,427 "Well those women wouldn't really wanna have more children 552 00:29:31,471 --> 00:29:32,515 anyway, would they?" 553 00:29:42,221 --> 00:29:45,180 - I was in between projects, 554 00:29:45,224 --> 00:29:48,488 so I was you know, kinda prospecting 555 00:29:48,531 --> 00:29:53,014 and CNN was playing in the background. 556 00:29:54,886 --> 00:29:55,974 - Tonight, a report on a really disturbing chapter 557 00:29:56,017 --> 00:29:57,497 in our history. 558 00:29:57,540 --> 00:29:58,803 One that's a lot more recent than you might think. 559 00:29:58,846 --> 00:30:00,239 So we're talking about eugenics, 560 00:30:00,282 --> 00:30:02,415 a word which obviously it typically associated 561 00:30:02,458 --> 00:30:04,156 with Nazi Germany. 562 00:30:04,199 --> 00:30:06,027 But there was a large eugenics movement in America 563 00:30:06,071 --> 00:30:07,855 before and after World War II. 564 00:30:07,899 --> 00:30:09,117 - [Reporter] The goal? 565 00:30:09,161 --> 00:30:11,903 To rid the country of the feeble-minded. 566 00:30:11,946 --> 00:30:16,168 - Disability, race and gender were the criteria. 567 00:30:16,211 --> 00:30:20,215 By the 1930s, 30 states had passed laws 568 00:30:20,259 --> 00:30:23,001 allowing for coercive sterilization. 569 00:30:23,044 --> 00:30:25,873 - [Reporter] But California was in a league of its own. 570 00:30:25,917 --> 00:30:29,442 The Golden State sterilized 20,000 people. 571 00:30:29,485 --> 00:30:30,617 - That blew my mind. 572 00:30:32,532 --> 00:30:35,056 More people were sterilized in California 573 00:30:35,100 --> 00:30:38,494 than any other state in the country. 574 00:30:38,538 --> 00:30:39,626 [soft intriguing music] 575 00:30:44,936 --> 00:30:47,634 The Germans actually came over to California 576 00:30:47,677 --> 00:30:51,899 to study California's program and then use the lessons 577 00:30:51,943 --> 00:30:55,990 to create their eugenics program in Nazi Germany. 578 00:30:56,034 --> 00:30:57,862 - [Dorothy] After World War II, 579 00:30:57,905 --> 00:31:01,996 eugenics goes sort of underground. 580 00:31:02,040 --> 00:31:05,173 - [Announcer] The distribution of people is far off balance. 581 00:31:05,217 --> 00:31:08,307 High birth rates go hand in hand with low incomes. 582 00:31:08,350 --> 00:31:13,399 - It became more a policy of population control 583 00:31:14,574 --> 00:31:17,142 through birth control policy, welfare policy. 584 00:31:17,185 --> 00:31:20,449 And now it was targeted mostly at women of color. 585 00:31:20,493 --> 00:31:21,581 ♪ Got enough children 586 00:31:21,624 --> 00:31:23,017 ♪ What do we do 587 00:31:23,061 --> 00:31:24,540 ♪ Got enough children 588 00:31:24,584 --> 00:31:26,151 ♪ What do we do 589 00:31:26,194 --> 00:31:28,718 - [Dorothy] There are government-sponsored campaigns 590 00:31:28,762 --> 00:31:32,940 to sterilize Indigenous women, women of Puerto Rico, 591 00:31:32,984 --> 00:31:35,943 Mexican-origin women in California, 592 00:31:35,987 --> 00:31:39,077 as well as Black women in the United States. 593 00:31:39,120 --> 00:31:40,905 - [Reporter] You're saying sterilize the woman 594 00:31:40,948 --> 00:31:42,341 if she's had more than two illegitimate children. 595 00:31:42,384 --> 00:31:43,690 - Right. 596 00:31:43,733 --> 00:31:44,473 - [Reporter] If she's on welfare. 597 00:31:44,517 --> 00:31:45,910 - Absolutely. 598 00:31:45,953 --> 00:31:47,433 - Last week, a Black Alabama couple 599 00:31:47,476 --> 00:31:50,088 filed a $1 million damage suit against the government 600 00:31:50,131 --> 00:31:52,394 charging that their two daughters had been sterilized 601 00:31:52,438 --> 00:31:54,483 without their informed consent. 602 00:31:54,527 --> 00:31:56,268 - I put a X on a piece of paper, 603 00:31:56,311 --> 00:32:00,968 then she told me that they were gon' give us some shots. 604 00:32:02,187 --> 00:32:03,753 That's what she told me. - I see. 605 00:32:03,797 --> 00:32:04,667 - [Reporter] Why were they giving you the shots 606 00:32:04,711 --> 00:32:06,191 in the first place? 607 00:32:06,234 --> 00:32:09,194 - [Interviewee] Keepin' us from having children. 608 00:32:09,237 --> 00:32:12,675 They said they didn't want us to have no children. 609 00:32:12,719 --> 00:32:14,286 - [Reporter] Did it hurt you? 610 00:32:14,329 --> 00:32:17,071 [soft solemn music] 611 00:32:19,204 --> 00:32:22,468 - Doctors around the country performed hysterectomies 612 00:32:22,511 --> 00:32:25,906 on young Black women just to practice hysterectomies. 613 00:32:27,342 --> 00:32:29,431 - [Anderson] Tens of thousands of Americans were operated on 614 00:32:29,475 --> 00:32:31,694 against their will or without their consent. 615 00:32:31,738 --> 00:32:34,349 - [Reporter] The government today announced strict new rules 616 00:32:34,393 --> 00:32:36,090 to protect people who are sterilized. 617 00:32:36,134 --> 00:32:38,005 - [Reporter] Guidelines to require written informed consent. 618 00:32:38,049 --> 00:32:40,225 - Federal judge. - To affect more than 100,000 619 00:32:40,268 --> 00:32:42,444 persons a year. - Minors under age 21, 620 00:32:42,488 --> 00:32:43,750 welfare mothers, others. 621 00:32:47,058 --> 00:32:50,670 - The ideas sparked in my head that I would spend some time 622 00:32:50,713 --> 00:32:53,978 looking at historical eugenics in California. 623 00:32:55,544 --> 00:32:58,243 I started to Google and I saw an article 624 00:32:58,286 --> 00:33:00,810 that Cynthia Chandler had written. 625 00:33:00,854 --> 00:33:03,030 And so I immediately called her up 626 00:33:03,074 --> 00:33:06,294 and I was like, "Is it true 627 00:33:06,338 --> 00:33:10,820 that there are people in the prisons getting sterilized?" 628 00:33:10,864 --> 00:33:12,387 And she said, "Of course, it's true." 629 00:33:14,520 --> 00:33:16,043 - We've heard from a lotta people 630 00:33:16,087 --> 00:33:19,220 about the surgeries that are happening on the inside. 631 00:33:21,092 --> 00:33:24,878 What a hysterectomy is? It's the removal of your uterus. 632 00:33:24,921 --> 00:33:27,446 They typically would take the fallopian tubes as well 633 00:33:27,489 --> 00:33:29,709 and possibly the ovaries. 634 00:33:29,752 --> 00:33:31,711 When the ovaries are removed 635 00:33:31,754 --> 00:33:33,930 and there's that big drop in estrogen, 636 00:33:33,974 --> 00:33:35,671 people can have a lotta different symptoms: 637 00:33:35,715 --> 00:33:37,543 having a lot of hot flashes, 638 00:33:37,586 --> 00:33:40,807 big mood changes and your period stops. 639 00:33:40,850 --> 00:33:42,548 And then another thing that we were hearing from people 640 00:33:42,591 --> 00:33:44,028 was tubal ligation. 641 00:33:44,071 --> 00:33:47,422 The surgeon will cut the fallopian tubes. 642 00:33:47,466 --> 00:33:51,252 We've heard from individuals who were asked to sign forms 643 00:33:51,296 --> 00:33:53,472 when they were being put under anesthesia. 644 00:33:53,515 --> 00:33:57,084 If the doctor is asking repeatedly and you don't say yes, 645 00:33:57,128 --> 00:33:58,868 they might just go ahead and do it anyway. 646 00:33:58,912 --> 00:34:01,306 Especially if you're having a C-section, right? 647 00:34:01,349 --> 00:34:04,961 Because your reproductive organs, all of this good stuff 648 00:34:05,005 --> 00:34:08,008 is already out on the table basically, literally. 649 00:34:08,052 --> 00:34:09,923 It would not be difficult, you know? 650 00:34:09,966 --> 00:34:13,361 Cut and cauterize your tubes if they wanted to 651 00:34:13,405 --> 00:34:15,798 and you don't know that. 652 00:34:15,842 --> 00:34:18,149 You can't have more children in the future. 653 00:34:20,020 --> 00:34:22,718 [soft solemn music] 654 00:34:30,248 --> 00:34:33,164 - I was given a six month sentence and I was pregnant, 655 00:34:34,904 --> 00:34:38,299 so I asked the judge if I could either 656 00:34:39,344 --> 00:34:41,520 be sent to a mother/infant program 657 00:34:41,563 --> 00:34:43,957 instead of going to prison, 658 00:34:44,000 --> 00:34:46,568 that way I could avoid giving birth in prison 659 00:34:46,612 --> 00:34:48,744 and being separated from my newborn baby. 660 00:34:49,876 --> 00:34:51,791 And she didn't wanna do that. 661 00:34:54,185 --> 00:34:55,838 They made me have a C-section. 662 00:34:57,927 --> 00:35:01,931 And I kept asking them, "Why do I have to have a C-section?" 663 00:35:01,975 --> 00:35:03,759 They said, "Because of security purposes." 664 00:35:06,371 --> 00:35:07,937 "You're gonna do major surgery on me 665 00:35:07,981 --> 00:35:11,027 and cut open my body for security purposes?" 666 00:35:14,074 --> 00:35:16,946 I get to the Madera County Hospital. 667 00:35:16,990 --> 00:35:20,646 I'm handcuffed to the bed, cut open under anesthesia. 668 00:35:20,689 --> 00:35:21,821 Had a epidural. 669 00:35:21,864 --> 00:35:25,825 I'm just majorly drugged up 670 00:35:25,868 --> 00:35:28,306 to where I don't even know 671 00:35:28,349 --> 00:35:29,959 probably what day of the week it is. 672 00:35:32,919 --> 00:35:36,401 The doctor had me sign a form. 673 00:35:36,444 --> 00:35:38,751 He said, "Are we doin' tubal ligation here?" 674 00:35:39,882 --> 00:35:41,232 That's something you're supposed to sit down 675 00:35:41,275 --> 00:35:43,712 and discuss in the office prior to the surgery. 676 00:35:44,974 --> 00:35:46,454 That's not something you just throw on me 677 00:35:46,498 --> 00:35:47,629 as you're cutting me open. 678 00:35:50,110 --> 00:35:53,592 And I declined and I couldn't even sign, so I just put an X. 679 00:35:55,159 --> 00:35:56,812 And I have no idea what I X'd. 680 00:36:04,516 --> 00:36:06,126 - We started putting in a series 681 00:36:06,170 --> 00:36:07,780 of public record act requests 682 00:36:07,823 --> 00:36:10,739 to get the numbers and the data on 683 00:36:10,783 --> 00:36:13,177 how many people were sterilized. 684 00:36:13,220 --> 00:36:14,830 - So this is all the data. 685 00:36:14,874 --> 00:36:17,703 This is vaginal deliveries and C-sections in here. 686 00:36:17,746 --> 00:36:20,358 - [Cynthia] 222 C-sections. 687 00:36:20,401 --> 00:36:23,230 393 births. 688 00:36:23,274 --> 00:36:25,972 That's a really remarkably high rate of C-section. 689 00:36:26,015 --> 00:36:27,147 - [Robin] Yeah. 690 00:36:28,148 --> 00:36:29,889 - [Cynthia] It's a little fishy to imagine 691 00:36:29,932 --> 00:36:33,066 that multiple people would be giving birth on the same day, 692 00:36:33,109 --> 00:36:34,372 also having C-sections 693 00:36:34,415 --> 00:36:36,504 and also choosing to have tubal ligations. 694 00:36:39,377 --> 00:36:42,380 - [Robin] So you can see there's ligate oviducts add-on. 695 00:36:42,423 --> 00:36:45,948 And that kinda kills me, the add-on part. 696 00:36:45,992 --> 00:36:47,776 It wasn't necessary for the surgery, 697 00:36:47,820 --> 00:36:49,517 but we thought we'd just take away 698 00:36:49,561 --> 00:36:50,518 your reproductive capacity. 699 00:36:52,390 --> 00:36:56,524 [soft intriguing music] 700 00:36:56,568 --> 00:36:59,788 - Justice Now had gotten a partial list 701 00:36:59,832 --> 00:37:02,704 of tubal ligation surgeries 702 00:37:02,748 --> 00:37:05,185 that have been reimbursed to the doctor. 703 00:37:05,229 --> 00:37:07,796 So the state were paying the doctors 704 00:37:07,840 --> 00:37:11,017 for having performed these surgeries. 705 00:37:11,060 --> 00:37:12,627 As an investigative reporter, 706 00:37:12,671 --> 00:37:17,545 I've seen spreadsheets that have fields removed. 707 00:37:17,589 --> 00:37:20,374 I was like, "There's more to this data 708 00:37:20,418 --> 00:37:21,941 than what you guys have." 709 00:37:25,205 --> 00:37:29,644 There is a culture of secrecy in California. 710 00:37:29,688 --> 00:37:31,994 They don't call it secrecy. They call it privacy. 711 00:37:32,038 --> 00:37:34,823 Not only do you have women in prison, 712 00:37:34,867 --> 00:37:39,045 you have laws around protecting their confidentiality. 713 00:37:39,088 --> 00:37:41,482 But then you have medical privacy. 714 00:37:41,526 --> 00:37:44,311 There's just layers and layers of 715 00:37:45,921 --> 00:37:49,664 plausible reasons why somebody can say no. 716 00:37:49,708 --> 00:37:52,754 So I was getting doors slammed 717 00:37:52,798 --> 00:37:55,801 and stonewalled left and right. 718 00:37:55,844 --> 00:37:57,803 Then it became a question of 719 00:37:57,846 --> 00:38:00,458 how do I put a human face on this data? 720 00:38:02,503 --> 00:38:07,073 Justice Now had access on the inside that I didn't have. 721 00:38:07,116 --> 00:38:11,120 And so I was very anxious. 722 00:38:11,164 --> 00:38:12,905 You know, hook me up here. 723 00:38:12,948 --> 00:38:15,734 Gimme access to somebody who can help me. 724 00:38:18,563 --> 00:38:23,307 - In 2006, I was sentenced to Valley State Prison for women. 725 00:38:23,350 --> 00:38:25,787 I was 21 years old and I was pregnant at the time. 726 00:38:28,181 --> 00:38:31,140 - Someone asked me to work down at the prison 727 00:38:31,184 --> 00:38:32,664 in my OB department. 728 00:38:32,707 --> 00:38:34,883 And I'm like "OB department? 729 00:38:34,927 --> 00:38:37,886 You have an OB department in the prison? 730 00:38:37,930 --> 00:38:38,496 "Yeah. 731 00:38:39,932 --> 00:38:41,325 You know, women come in pregnant." 732 00:38:41,368 --> 00:38:42,282 And I'm like "Oh. 733 00:38:43,631 --> 00:38:46,330 Okay." [chuckles] 734 00:38:46,373 --> 00:38:47,287 That's a new thought. 735 00:38:49,420 --> 00:38:50,682 "See, when you go way over on this side, 736 00:38:50,725 --> 00:38:52,379 there's just not much fluid. 737 00:38:52,423 --> 00:38:53,859 You've had this happen to you before. 738 00:38:53,902 --> 00:38:55,469 - Yeah. 739 00:38:55,513 --> 00:38:58,342 - [Crystal] I was there being seen by Dr. Heinrich. 740 00:38:58,385 --> 00:39:02,041 He was eating while I was you know, laid up on the bed 741 00:39:02,084 --> 00:39:03,912 waiting to be examined. 742 00:39:03,956 --> 00:39:06,959 - And he would be doing a vaginal exam 743 00:39:07,002 --> 00:39:09,222 and would be smackin' his lips 744 00:39:09,265 --> 00:39:13,052 and that just grossed the patients out. 745 00:39:13,095 --> 00:39:16,577 - And I'm like, "Is this the best time 746 00:39:16,621 --> 00:39:19,580 to be eating that sandwich while you're doing a pap smear?" 747 00:39:22,540 --> 00:39:24,411 - [Corey] He'd be working without gloves on 748 00:39:24,455 --> 00:39:25,499 or eating popcorn. 749 00:39:25,543 --> 00:39:26,718 It was just filthy. 750 00:39:30,243 --> 00:39:35,030 He had a history of lawsuits that resulted in settlements 751 00:39:36,205 --> 00:39:39,600 where the allegations were really serious. 752 00:39:39,644 --> 00:39:42,211 We're talking basic-level mistakes 753 00:39:42,255 --> 00:39:45,519 that resulted in permanently deformed children 754 00:39:45,563 --> 00:39:48,043 or permanently deformed women. 755 00:39:48,087 --> 00:39:52,178 [soft intriguing music] 756 00:39:52,221 --> 00:39:54,398 - [Crystal] I ended up working at the infirmary. 757 00:39:54,441 --> 00:39:57,357 I would have to give the inmates urine cups 758 00:39:57,401 --> 00:39:58,532 and write their name on it. 759 00:39:59,707 --> 00:40:00,534 While I was working the infirmary, 760 00:40:00,578 --> 00:40:02,623 Dr. Heinrich made a comment 761 00:40:02,667 --> 00:40:04,756 that some people shouldn't have kids 762 00:40:04,799 --> 00:40:06,888 because they keep coming back and forth to prison. 763 00:40:06,932 --> 00:40:09,674 He sees women that come back and forth to prison 764 00:40:09,717 --> 00:40:12,372 all the time and they keep coming back pregnant. 765 00:40:14,983 --> 00:40:17,246 - Heinrich will look at their file. 766 00:40:17,290 --> 00:40:19,684 He would figure out if this was their first time 767 00:40:19,727 --> 00:40:21,773 or if this was a repeat time 768 00:40:21,816 --> 00:40:25,559 and then he would make a judgment call to pitch the woman 769 00:40:25,603 --> 00:40:28,388 on getting their tubes tied. 770 00:40:28,432 --> 00:40:32,653 - He would become somewhat pushy about it and insistent. 771 00:40:34,176 --> 00:40:35,787 - I talked to the nurses all the time 772 00:40:35,830 --> 00:40:39,747 and I don't know if maybe they played a factor in 773 00:40:39,791 --> 00:40:44,317 softening up. Dr. Heinrich not to have me sterilized 774 00:40:44,360 --> 00:40:46,624 because it was my first time in prison. 775 00:40:48,452 --> 00:40:50,758 - One of the challenges with this story 776 00:40:50,802 --> 00:40:53,369 and the question of eugenics, 777 00:40:53,413 --> 00:40:57,504 you ultimately have to get to intent. 778 00:40:57,548 --> 00:41:00,333 You have inmates making allegations 779 00:41:00,376 --> 00:41:03,597 against people who have PhDs, right? 780 00:41:03,641 --> 00:41:06,687 And so the question then becomes 781 00:41:06,731 --> 00:41:09,516 how do you know that the crook is telling the truth? 782 00:41:11,692 --> 00:41:15,653 So I'm calling Dr. Heinrich and I get a woman. 783 00:41:15,696 --> 00:41:17,698 She says, "He's not gonna talk." 784 00:41:17,742 --> 00:41:20,614 She slammed the phone down, but I'm getting desperate 785 00:41:22,834 --> 00:41:27,229 and I decide to just get in my car and drive to his house. 786 00:41:27,273 --> 00:41:29,449 And I just knock on the door. 787 00:41:29,493 --> 00:41:32,408 I'm drenched in sweat. 788 00:41:32,452 --> 00:41:34,323 And he came to the door 789 00:41:34,367 --> 00:41:38,110 and I said, "Hi Dr. Heinrich, my name's Corey Johnson. 790 00:41:38,153 --> 00:41:40,155 I'm with Center for Investigative Reporting. 791 00:41:41,548 --> 00:41:42,593 Can I have some water?" 792 00:41:44,682 --> 00:41:48,468 And he stopped and he said, "Okay, come on in." 793 00:41:48,512 --> 00:41:50,383 And as I get the water, 794 00:41:50,426 --> 00:41:54,866 I pull out my laptop and I show him a spreadsheet of costs. 795 00:41:56,084 --> 00:41:58,260 And I say to him point blank, 796 00:41:58,304 --> 00:42:02,961 "The rules say that sterilization procedures were banned. 797 00:42:04,397 --> 00:42:06,181 And according to this spreadsheet, 798 00:42:06,225 --> 00:42:10,577 there's well over $100,000 that has been paid 799 00:42:10,621 --> 00:42:13,406 of taxpayer money on a procedure that's banned." 800 00:42:14,581 --> 00:42:15,669 And then that's when he said, 801 00:42:15,713 --> 00:42:17,932 "Well that's cheaper than welfare." 802 00:42:17,976 --> 00:42:19,281 [soft dramatic music] 803 00:42:19,325 --> 00:42:20,544 - [Reporter] A bombshell report 804 00:42:20,587 --> 00:42:22,415 from the Center of Investigative Reporting 805 00:42:22,458 --> 00:42:23,721 shows that doctors- - Female inmates in California 806 00:42:23,764 --> 00:42:25,418 were illegally sterilized. 807 00:42:25,461 --> 00:42:28,160 - [Reporter] Doctors pressured them into tubal ligations. 808 00:42:28,203 --> 00:42:31,337 - While they were on an operating table heavily sedated. 809 00:42:31,380 --> 00:42:33,339 - That's absolutely not the appropriate time 810 00:42:33,382 --> 00:42:34,645 to be attempting to get consent 811 00:42:34,688 --> 00:42:36,821 for major life-changing surgery. 812 00:42:36,864 --> 00:42:37,778 - [Reporter] Prison officials claim 813 00:42:37,822 --> 00:42:39,432 it helps save the state money. 814 00:42:39,475 --> 00:42:40,302 - It's like a drop in the bucket 815 00:42:40,346 --> 00:42:41,652 compared to quote, 816 00:42:47,353 --> 00:42:49,529 - And these are by the way mostly repeat offenders 817 00:42:49,573 --> 00:42:50,748 who were sterilized. 818 00:42:50,791 --> 00:42:52,358 - Where are they getting pregnant in prison? 819 00:42:52,401 --> 00:42:54,621 Like that's the first question you have to address? 820 00:42:54,665 --> 00:42:56,623 - Absolutely. - Disgusting, eww. 821 00:42:56,667 --> 00:42:57,929 - When the story came out, 822 00:42:57,972 --> 00:43:01,628 within hours there were at least 700 comments. 823 00:43:03,064 --> 00:43:05,850 Within a day, there was over 2,000. 824 00:43:07,286 --> 00:43:08,766 - [Reporter] Why does the state need to give its consent 825 00:43:08,809 --> 00:43:11,290 if the women already are? 826 00:43:11,333 --> 00:43:13,858 - [Reporter] We give our criminals way too many rights 827 00:43:13,901 --> 00:43:15,381 when they go to prison. 828 00:43:15,424 --> 00:43:16,643 - [Reporter] People will get up in arms 829 00:43:16,687 --> 00:43:17,992 and say, "This is like eugenics." 830 00:43:18,036 --> 00:43:19,733 - [Reporter] If they can stay out of jail 831 00:43:19,777 --> 00:43:23,084 and raise their kids without our assistance, why reproduce? 832 00:43:23,128 --> 00:43:24,433 - [Reporter] Can you explain 833 00:43:24,477 --> 00:43:26,392 why you consider these coercive? 834 00:43:26,435 --> 00:43:27,654 - [Reporter] Since when do prisoners' rights 835 00:43:27,698 --> 00:43:29,613 trump the rights- 836 00:43:29,656 --> 00:43:31,223 - [Reporter] The State of California. 837 00:43:31,266 --> 00:43:32,441 - [Reporter] Unless you can step forward and show 838 00:43:32,485 --> 00:43:33,965 that you have the financial wherewithal 839 00:43:34,008 --> 00:43:35,967 to take care of the child, I'm gonna predict that you- 840 00:43:39,013 --> 00:43:40,232 - [Corey] It got real ugly. 841 00:43:42,103 --> 00:43:45,367 There were days where I just would not look at the comments 842 00:43:45,411 --> 00:43:49,154 because I didn't wanna be messed up in the head all day. 843 00:43:49,197 --> 00:43:53,898 [soft intriguing music] [reporters chattering] 844 00:43:55,595 --> 00:43:56,378 - [Adam] 'Kay. If everybody would take a seat, 845 00:43:56,422 --> 00:43:57,597 we're gonna get started. 846 00:44:01,775 --> 00:44:04,517 - The fact that it is the 21st century 847 00:44:04,560 --> 00:44:06,562 and we have to ask our state auditor 848 00:44:06,606 --> 00:44:08,652 to see if women in California 849 00:44:08,695 --> 00:44:11,306 are being coercively sterilized 850 00:44:11,350 --> 00:44:14,658 is absolutely unconscionable and frankly revolting. 851 00:44:16,268 --> 00:44:18,052 - Joyce Hayhoe representing California 852 00:44:18,096 --> 00:44:20,054 Correctional Healthcare Services. 853 00:44:20,098 --> 00:44:22,709 First of all, we support the sonnet request. 854 00:44:22,753 --> 00:44:24,102 We believe- - Well I certainly as chair 855 00:44:24,145 --> 00:44:26,713 appreciate that you're here to support the audit. 856 00:44:26,757 --> 00:44:30,761 I think the more important question is why you didn't know. 857 00:44:30,804 --> 00:44:34,286 The Receiver was put in place specifically 858 00:44:34,329 --> 00:44:38,203 to come in and protect the constitutional rights of inmates. 859 00:44:38,246 --> 00:44:39,726 - Mr. Kelso was not aware 860 00:44:39,770 --> 00:44:41,510 until it was brought to my attention. 861 00:44:41,554 --> 00:44:43,861 - Receiver himself was not aware 862 00:44:43,904 --> 00:44:46,559 of what was happening under his watch. 863 00:44:46,602 --> 00:44:47,734 That's your testimony today. - Yes. 864 00:44:47,778 --> 00:44:49,257 Yes. - Okay. 865 00:44:49,301 --> 00:44:51,956 - I do believe that the receiver's office itself 866 00:44:51,999 --> 00:44:54,567 was in fact aware of that before then. 867 00:44:54,610 --> 00:44:56,569 If you go from September 10th, 2008 868 00:44:56,612 --> 00:44:58,876 and move forward to 2010, 869 00:44:58,919 --> 00:45:01,574 over 50 people were illegally sterilized 870 00:45:01,617 --> 00:45:03,358 during labor and delivery in that period. 871 00:45:03,402 --> 00:45:06,622 - Medical doctors thought that it was okay 872 00:45:06,666 --> 00:45:09,103 to sterilize women without their permission? 873 00:45:09,147 --> 00:45:11,018 - No. 874 00:45:11,062 --> 00:45:14,674 Medical doctors thought it was okay to sterilize women 875 00:45:14,718 --> 00:45:17,285 having been given informed consent. 876 00:45:17,329 --> 00:45:19,200 And so most of- 877 00:45:19,244 --> 00:45:20,158 - [Adam] Isn't that the same as without their permission? 878 00:45:20,201 --> 00:45:21,550 I'm confused on- 879 00:45:21,594 --> 00:45:24,771 - Women were signing consent forms. 880 00:45:24,815 --> 00:45:25,990 - I'd love to see a copy of that form 881 00:45:26,033 --> 00:45:27,426 to see if I could even understand it, 882 00:45:27,469 --> 00:45:29,602 let alone a woman that's under duress. 883 00:45:29,645 --> 00:45:31,125 But this is unbelievable. 884 00:45:31,169 --> 00:45:33,606 - That one should not be asked in that environment 885 00:45:33,649 --> 00:45:36,740 to give up a fundamental right to bear children. 886 00:45:36,783 --> 00:45:40,874 I've had displeasure of a dozen times 887 00:45:40,918 --> 00:45:42,746 going through people's medical records 888 00:45:42,789 --> 00:45:44,573 and learning that they were sterilized 889 00:45:44,617 --> 00:45:48,534 during unrelated medical procedures and they didn't know it. 890 00:45:48,577 --> 00:45:49,796 The State has admitted 891 00:45:49,840 --> 00:45:51,363 that they have done these illegal surgeries, 892 00:45:51,406 --> 00:45:53,669 but we don't actually know who they did them on. 893 00:45:53,713 --> 00:45:57,630 - I'd like to prioritize this audit 894 00:45:57,673 --> 00:46:00,372 so that the auditor could put this at the front of the line 895 00:46:00,415 --> 00:46:03,679 and get to it as quickly as possible. 896 00:46:03,723 --> 00:46:05,420 [soft intriguing music] 897 00:46:05,464 --> 00:46:07,683 'Kay, I would remind members of the committee, 898 00:46:07,727 --> 00:46:09,511 please come to the committee so we establish rapport. 899 00:46:09,555 --> 00:46:12,645 - It was incredibly affirming to hear the legislature 900 00:46:12,688 --> 00:46:14,821 call these abuses outrageous. 901 00:46:14,865 --> 00:46:16,431 We've been working for years 902 00:46:16,475 --> 00:46:18,738 to get the government to take this seriously. 903 00:46:18,782 --> 00:46:20,566 Finally, the same legislators are standing up 904 00:46:20,609 --> 00:46:22,829 and doing what needs to be done. 905 00:46:22,873 --> 00:46:25,049 The Department of Corrections and the receivers claim 906 00:46:25,092 --> 00:46:28,052 usually there was very little personal knowledge 907 00:46:28,095 --> 00:46:30,837 on the part of present administrators of this happening. 908 00:46:30,881 --> 00:46:32,839 - It's my understanding that many of these 909 00:46:32,883 --> 00:46:35,711 did have some kinda consent at the outside doctor 910 00:46:35,755 --> 00:46:37,104 because these procedures are performed 911 00:46:37,148 --> 00:46:39,280 in a community facility, just so that that's clear. 912 00:46:39,324 --> 00:46:41,065 They're not performed at the institution. 913 00:46:41,108 --> 00:46:44,938 Doctors statewide felt for whatever reason 914 00:46:44,982 --> 00:46:47,941 that it was being sanctioned by the department. 915 00:46:47,985 --> 00:46:51,075 - There may be doctors who aren't aware of the policy 916 00:46:51,118 --> 00:46:52,772 or the federal law issue. 917 00:46:52,816 --> 00:46:56,123 I can well imagine an outside physician in good faith 918 00:46:56,167 --> 00:46:59,039 thinking that this is a matter of reproductive autonomy 919 00:46:59,083 --> 00:47:01,912 and not knowing the conversation that has been going on 920 00:47:01,955 --> 00:47:05,611 about the inability to give valid consent in prison. 921 00:47:07,831 --> 00:47:10,616 - For inmates to sign consent is a really big deal 922 00:47:10,659 --> 00:47:12,574 because they're seen as a ward of the court 923 00:47:12,618 --> 00:47:15,795 and not really being allowed to enter into contracts. 924 00:47:15,839 --> 00:47:17,797 You would think there would've been a red flag 925 00:47:17,841 --> 00:47:20,756 when the billing departments received those bills. 926 00:47:20,800 --> 00:47:23,063 - When I arrived at the receivership in 2008, 927 00:47:23,107 --> 00:47:27,024 we did not use standard medical billing codes. 928 00:47:28,199 --> 00:47:30,331 And so there really was no easy way for us 929 00:47:30,375 --> 00:47:32,638 to know what we were paying for. 930 00:47:34,118 --> 00:47:36,642 - That seems very unbelievable to me. 931 00:47:38,035 --> 00:47:39,688 To do a medical procedure, 932 00:47:39,732 --> 00:47:42,909 there's incredible layers of paperwork that has to happen 933 00:47:42,953 --> 00:47:46,913 that has to be vetted by a medical committee at each prison. 934 00:47:46,957 --> 00:47:49,611 [soft intriguing music] [pen scratching] 935 00:47:51,962 --> 00:47:54,878 So I would suspect that many high up officials 936 00:47:54,921 --> 00:47:57,402 were in fact aware of what was going on 937 00:47:57,445 --> 00:47:58,838 and potentially part of it. 938 00:48:01,058 --> 00:48:03,843 - Everything had to go through committee 939 00:48:03,887 --> 00:48:05,627 and everything had to be documented 940 00:48:05,671 --> 00:48:07,281 as to why this was necessary. 941 00:48:09,240 --> 00:48:11,633 [soft intriguing music] 942 00:48:11,677 --> 00:48:14,680 - At the point that Dr. Heinrich was hired, 943 00:48:14,723 --> 00:48:17,422 sterilization procedures have been going on for years 944 00:48:17,465 --> 00:48:19,293 at multiple prisons. 945 00:48:20,904 --> 00:48:23,515 He strongly believed that there were women 946 00:48:23,558 --> 00:48:26,561 that were gaming the system and that needed to be stopped. 947 00:48:27,649 --> 00:48:31,175 - He was communism and costs 948 00:48:31,218 --> 00:48:35,701 and he tried to save the state and the prison system money. 949 00:48:37,877 --> 00:48:41,185 - That attitude tracked precisely 950 00:48:41,228 --> 00:48:45,624 to the historical attitude of the California leaders 951 00:48:45,667 --> 00:48:47,234 of the eugenics movement. 952 00:48:47,278 --> 00:48:51,891 They had always used cost benefit as the justifier 953 00:48:53,023 --> 00:48:55,416 for why they were doing what they were doing. 954 00:48:55,460 --> 00:48:59,029 And so in that way, Heinrich was part of a legacy. 955 00:49:00,117 --> 00:49:03,816 If you just stop and make him the face of it, 956 00:49:03,859 --> 00:49:05,339 do you really get at the problem? 957 00:49:06,950 --> 00:49:11,693 [soft serene music] [birds chirping] 958 00:49:13,695 --> 00:49:15,349 - [Player] Oh! 959 00:49:15,393 --> 00:49:16,046 That's two. 960 00:49:18,744 --> 00:49:20,267 - Thank you, sweetheart. 961 00:49:20,311 --> 00:49:21,834 - Have a good day. - Have a good day. 962 00:49:21,877 --> 00:49:23,140 You too. 963 00:49:23,183 --> 00:49:27,622 [lively ice cream truck music] [birds chirping] 964 00:49:42,115 --> 00:49:44,988 This is my space for right now. 965 00:49:45,031 --> 00:49:46,902 Of course I desire to have my own home. 966 00:49:46,946 --> 00:49:49,253 But my mom's older and you know, 967 00:49:49,296 --> 00:49:52,212 I feel good about bein' able to be here with her. 968 00:49:52,256 --> 00:49:54,432 I wasn't able to be here with my dad. 969 00:49:55,911 --> 00:49:57,783 I lost my dad when I was in prison. 970 00:49:58,914 --> 00:50:00,873 So for God to gimme opportunity 971 00:50:00,916 --> 00:50:02,962 to be with my mom in her latter years 972 00:50:03,006 --> 00:50:05,051 though we fight like cats and dogs. 973 00:50:05,095 --> 00:50:07,227 But at the same time, she tough too. 974 00:50:07,271 --> 00:50:09,882 So she's one of my best opponents. 975 00:50:12,189 --> 00:50:16,019 My relationship with my oldest son is very strained. 976 00:50:16,062 --> 00:50:20,545 He remembers some of the episodes of domestic violence. 977 00:50:22,373 --> 00:50:25,245 I had to back up and give my son the space that he needs 978 00:50:25,289 --> 00:50:29,510 in order to figure out what happened to not only him but us. 979 00:50:29,554 --> 00:50:33,210 [Skype ringtone music] 980 00:50:33,253 --> 00:50:33,819 How you doin'? 981 00:50:35,473 --> 00:50:36,909 - [Kelli] What's up with it? 982 00:50:36,952 --> 00:50:38,432 - You all right? 983 00:50:38,476 --> 00:50:40,913 But my youngest son doesn't remember the violence 984 00:50:40,956 --> 00:50:44,221 and the interaction with me as a mother. 985 00:50:44,264 --> 00:50:46,179 Listen, I supposed to come down there. 986 00:50:47,789 --> 00:50:50,140 I'm tryin' to get Anthony to come with me. 987 00:50:50,183 --> 00:50:53,012 And I think that at times that he look at the fact 988 00:50:53,056 --> 00:50:56,189 that me and you, we get along a little bit better 989 00:50:56,233 --> 00:50:57,843 because you just let shit. 990 00:50:57,886 --> 00:50:58,931 If it happened, it happened. 991 00:50:58,974 --> 00:51:00,367 Bygones is bygones, okay? 992 00:51:00,411 --> 00:51:01,368 We passed that. 993 00:51:05,938 --> 00:51:07,113 - [Kelli] Right. 994 00:51:07,157 --> 00:51:10,029 Thank God for this technology of FaceTime. 995 00:51:10,073 --> 00:51:11,596 All right then, baby. I love you. 996 00:51:13,163 --> 00:51:16,557 But to me, the FaceTime is a glass window 997 00:51:16,601 --> 00:51:18,211 like when I was incarcerated. 998 00:51:22,172 --> 00:51:25,349 Instead of me havin' all these scars 999 00:51:25,392 --> 00:51:26,959 from the things that happened to me, 1000 00:51:27,002 --> 00:51:31,659 I want like things that symbolize my victories. 1001 00:51:31,703 --> 00:51:34,445 And so to me, like this with the three butterflies 1002 00:51:34,488 --> 00:51:37,012 that represent me and my two sons. 1003 00:51:37,056 --> 00:51:38,884 And soon as I got this tattoo, 1004 00:51:38,927 --> 00:51:40,799 I just start feelin' liberated, you know. 1005 00:51:42,409 --> 00:51:45,369 It's me taking the power back on my body 1006 00:51:45,412 --> 00:51:49,764 and putting things there that represent who I am 1007 00:51:49,808 --> 00:51:52,202 as opposed to what I've been through. 1008 00:51:52,245 --> 00:51:54,639 [birds chirping] 1009 00:51:56,380 --> 00:51:58,599 - Morning everybody. 1010 00:51:58,643 --> 00:51:59,339 Good morning. 1011 00:51:59,383 --> 00:52:01,211 All right. 1012 00:52:01,254 --> 00:52:04,866 - We made a plan to speak to different legislators 1013 00:52:04,910 --> 00:52:07,173 that we thought would be strategic. 1014 00:52:07,217 --> 00:52:09,654 And Senator Jackson was at the top of my list. 1015 00:52:09,697 --> 00:52:11,221 - Boy, this thing moves slowly. Doesn't it? 1016 00:52:11,264 --> 00:52:12,874 - She showed up to the hearing 1017 00:52:12,918 --> 00:52:15,573 when she isn't on that committee. 1018 00:52:15,616 --> 00:52:17,270 That doesn't happen. [chuckles] 1019 00:52:17,314 --> 00:52:18,706 Legislators that are on committees 1020 00:52:18,750 --> 00:52:20,491 don't show up to their hearings. 1021 00:52:20,534 --> 00:52:22,188 Legislators that are on committees 1022 00:52:22,232 --> 00:52:25,278 are twiddling their thumbs and falling asleep. 1023 00:52:25,322 --> 00:52:26,366 - Great. Thanks. 1024 00:52:26,410 --> 00:52:27,019 Okay, bye-bye. 1025 00:52:29,108 --> 00:52:31,458 When I first learned of what was going on, 1026 00:52:31,502 --> 00:52:34,287 I was absolutely horrified. 1027 00:52:34,331 --> 00:52:37,986 The fact that these women were being treated like objects 1028 00:52:38,030 --> 00:52:41,947 and as non-human beings, how could this be happening? 1029 00:52:43,905 --> 00:52:47,735 We had outlawed sterilization since 1979 1030 00:52:47,779 --> 00:52:50,434 and many of us assumed that it had ended at that time. 1031 00:52:50,477 --> 00:52:54,481 A blight on our state history but nonetheless had stopped. 1032 00:52:54,525 --> 00:52:57,092 So this bill was to make it very, very clear 1033 00:52:57,136 --> 00:53:00,357 that doctors cannot perform these procedures in prison. 1034 00:53:00,400 --> 00:53:01,227 Period. 1035 00:53:05,362 --> 00:53:07,494 - I did not know that actually. 1036 00:53:07,538 --> 00:53:10,018 - If I had known that that was illegal, 1037 00:53:10,062 --> 00:53:12,151 I would not have obtained the consent for it. 1038 00:53:13,587 --> 00:53:15,285 [employees chattering] 1039 00:53:15,328 --> 00:53:17,678 [phone ringing] 1040 00:53:17,722 --> 00:53:19,463 - I'm typing up a survey 1041 00:53:19,506 --> 00:53:21,769 breaking down each different component of the bill 1042 00:53:21,813 --> 00:53:24,772 and asking people on the inside if they agree or disagree 1043 00:53:24,816 --> 00:53:26,513 and then there's room for people to write more 1044 00:53:26,557 --> 00:53:28,646 about what it is that they feel. 1045 00:53:28,689 --> 00:53:30,213 "Keep up the great work," 1046 00:53:30,256 --> 00:53:32,563 or, "This is why I disagree with a particular part." 1047 00:53:32,606 --> 00:53:35,740 They just have room to explain that if they want to. 1048 00:53:35,783 --> 00:53:37,742 - [Automated Voice] Call from an inmate at 1049 00:53:37,785 --> 00:53:40,005 the Central California Women's Facility. 1050 00:53:40,048 --> 00:53:41,311 - [Inmate] Hey, how are you? 1051 00:53:41,354 --> 00:53:42,616 - Hello. - Good, how are you doin'? 1052 00:53:42,660 --> 00:53:44,227 - [Courtney] Justice Now is the only organization 1053 00:53:44,270 --> 00:53:45,967 that we know of that has people 1054 00:53:46,011 --> 00:53:48,448 who are currently imprisoned on the board. 1055 00:53:48,492 --> 00:53:51,756 - Do you feel like folks are feeling good about the bill 1056 00:53:51,799 --> 00:53:54,715 or they're having some significant concerns? 1057 00:54:11,428 --> 00:54:12,603 - [Cynthia] And how has that been going? 1058 00:54:19,349 --> 00:54:20,219 - Yeah. 1059 00:54:27,661 --> 00:54:29,881 - We're going to be bringing to the legislature 1060 00:54:29,924 --> 00:54:33,580 actual words and experiences from people inside. 1061 00:54:33,624 --> 00:54:38,368 And so that information that you're gathering is so crucial. 1062 00:54:38,411 --> 00:54:40,326 - Yeah. Thank you so much. 1063 00:54:40,370 --> 00:54:42,067 [gentle music] 1064 00:54:46,289 --> 00:54:48,682 - [Inmate] I was naive. I really didn't know what to do. 1065 00:54:48,726 --> 00:54:50,075 I just went along with their doctor 1066 00:54:50,118 --> 00:54:51,642 'cause I figured he knew best. 1067 00:54:51,685 --> 00:54:55,341 - [Inmate] I didn't know that I won't have children. 1068 00:54:55,385 --> 00:54:57,909 - [Inmate] I've been told, "Well you're pre-menopausal. 1069 00:54:57,952 --> 00:55:00,564 You're past breeding age," like I was a cow. 1070 00:55:00,607 --> 00:55:02,348 - [Inmate] I would've loved to have a child. 1071 00:55:02,392 --> 00:55:03,697 - [Inmate] I've seen it happenin' more so 1072 00:55:03,741 --> 00:55:05,743 with Hispanic, African American. 1073 00:55:05,786 --> 00:55:06,700 You don't hear too much of it happenin' 1074 00:55:06,744 --> 00:55:09,050 in the Caucasian descent at all. 1075 00:55:09,094 --> 00:55:10,704 - [Inmate] We're women in prison. 1076 00:55:10,748 --> 00:55:13,664 Who cares if they mess up our reproductive system? 1077 00:55:13,707 --> 00:55:15,013 We're prisoners. 1078 00:55:15,056 --> 00:55:16,536 We shouldn't be able to reproduce anyway. 1079 00:55:21,933 --> 00:55:24,152 - There's certain things that I picked up in prison 1080 00:55:24,196 --> 00:55:27,112 that I believe were positive habits. 1081 00:55:28,592 --> 00:55:31,334 This is a habit that I got out of prison 1082 00:55:31,377 --> 00:55:34,902 is after we use the sink, we spray it down. 1083 00:55:34,946 --> 00:55:36,948 Wish there's more people do that. 1084 00:55:36,991 --> 00:55:38,776 But you know, when you in prison, 1085 00:55:40,778 --> 00:55:42,519 you develop this germaphobe. 1086 00:55:44,390 --> 00:55:46,523 You got eight girls using the same sink. 1087 00:55:49,743 --> 00:55:52,616 I got one week left for school. 1088 00:55:54,705 --> 00:55:56,271 It has been the toughest month 1089 00:55:56,315 --> 00:56:00,275 and I'm only at undergrad. 1090 00:56:00,319 --> 00:56:02,930 Just imagine how it's gon' be me 1091 00:56:02,974 --> 00:56:06,369 trying to go after my masters. 1092 00:56:11,199 --> 00:56:12,462 - I think- 1093 00:56:20,774 --> 00:56:22,167 - I'm hoping, is it? 1094 00:56:22,210 --> 00:56:23,429 Can I hope? 1095 00:56:23,473 --> 00:56:24,169 - You certainly can. - Okay. 1096 00:56:24,212 --> 00:56:26,606 [group laughing] 1097 00:56:26,650 --> 00:56:29,392 I'm hoping to be completed at least 1098 00:56:30,871 --> 00:56:32,656 a semester coming out of incarceration. 1099 00:56:32,699 --> 00:56:33,918 I have less than a year left. 1100 00:56:36,964 --> 00:56:37,487 - Oh wait- 1101 00:56:38,575 --> 00:56:39,619 Social studies. 1102 00:56:48,106 --> 00:56:50,108 - I really would like to work with battered women 1103 00:56:51,588 --> 00:56:53,894 and troubled young teen girls. 1104 00:56:55,548 --> 00:56:58,377 [smooth rhythmic music] 1105 00:56:58,421 --> 00:57:00,553 - Welcome back to The Dialogue. 1106 00:57:00,597 --> 00:57:04,035 We are talking about the effects of trauma, abuse 1107 00:57:04,078 --> 00:57:06,037 and domestic violence on the Black community. 1108 00:57:06,080 --> 00:57:08,256 We're starting with Ms. Kelli Dillon. 1109 00:57:08,300 --> 00:57:10,694 She is a survivor of domestic violence 1110 00:57:10,737 --> 00:57:13,479 and an advocate for prevention and intervention. 1111 00:57:13,523 --> 00:57:17,483 - Most of the people see victims as very fragile, docile. 1112 00:57:17,527 --> 00:57:19,746 - Helpless. - Helpless. 1113 00:57:19,790 --> 00:57:21,400 - White. 1114 00:57:21,444 --> 00:57:23,620 - We are seen as aggressive. 1115 00:57:23,663 --> 00:57:27,014 - When a police officer approaches a female 1116 00:57:27,058 --> 00:57:29,103 African American or Latina, 1117 00:57:29,147 --> 00:57:32,585 they automatically ask them, "Are you gang affiliated?" 1118 00:57:32,629 --> 00:57:35,806 92% of all the women that are in prison 1119 00:57:35,849 --> 00:57:38,199 are in prison because of domestic violence. 1120 00:57:39,374 --> 00:57:40,941 - I have already been sexually assaulted. 1121 00:57:40,985 --> 00:57:43,466 I had already been held hostage in the house for three days. 1122 00:57:43,509 --> 00:57:44,684 When I call, the police may say, 1123 00:57:44,728 --> 00:57:46,469 "You don't look like a victim." 1124 00:57:46,512 --> 00:57:48,514 So I had lost hope in the people 1125 00:57:48,558 --> 00:57:50,821 that were supposed to be there to protect and serve me. 1126 00:57:50,864 --> 00:57:52,475 At that point, I had had it. 1127 00:57:52,518 --> 00:57:55,216 Either I was gonna get out by foot or in a body bag. 1128 00:57:55,260 --> 00:57:56,174 I just wanted out. 1129 00:58:02,876 --> 00:58:06,880 - We've gotten over 400 responses on this survey so far 1130 00:58:06,924 --> 00:58:08,621 and there are more coming in every day. 1131 00:58:08,665 --> 00:58:10,928 And that's pretty significant when you consider that 1132 00:58:10,971 --> 00:58:14,540 there are approximately 3,000 people inside CCWF. 1133 00:58:14,584 --> 00:58:17,587 [soft intriguing music] 1134 00:58:17,630 --> 00:58:19,502 "I did not know that I had another choice. 1135 00:58:22,374 --> 00:58:23,854 I was not given follow-up care." 1136 00:58:25,812 --> 00:58:29,294 It's you know, just a line of agree, agree, agree, agree. 1137 00:58:30,991 --> 00:58:33,298 People came out of the woodwork through that survey. 1138 00:58:35,169 --> 00:58:37,781 It goes deeper than even we who've been working on this 1139 00:58:37,824 --> 00:58:38,651 for a decade now. 1140 00:58:41,567 --> 00:58:44,265 - [Chair] If you could go ahead and present SP-1135 please. 1141 00:58:47,617 --> 00:58:49,140 - My name is Kelly Densmore 1142 00:58:49,183 --> 00:58:51,925 and I am reading a statement from somebody inside. 1143 00:58:51,969 --> 00:58:53,579 "At Valley State Prison for Women, 1144 00:58:53,623 --> 00:58:56,974 my gynecologist tried to get me to have a hysterectomy." 1145 00:58:57,017 --> 00:58:59,193 - [Inmate] You take a big risk by speaking out 1146 00:58:59,237 --> 00:59:01,979 on the leases that happen to you behind bars. 1147 00:59:02,022 --> 00:59:03,284 - "In prison, you worry about 1148 00:59:03,328 --> 00:59:04,808 filing a complaint against a doctor 1149 00:59:04,851 --> 00:59:06,679 because the threat of retaliation is always there." 1150 00:59:06,723 --> 00:59:11,118 - [Inmate] But I can't say as a woman and not speak out. 1151 00:59:11,162 --> 00:59:13,904 - "The United Nations convention on human rights 1152 00:59:13,947 --> 00:59:15,601 talks about the right to family." 1153 00:59:15,645 --> 00:59:17,603 - [Inmate] I understand that we're where we're at, 1154 00:59:17,647 --> 00:59:19,170 but I'm still a human being. 1155 00:59:19,213 --> 00:59:20,824 - "We are not animals." - They don't care about us. 1156 00:59:20,867 --> 00:59:21,955 - [Inmate] There's no accountability here. 1157 00:59:21,999 --> 00:59:22,826 [inmates chattering] 1158 00:59:22,869 --> 00:59:24,784 - [Inmate] This is not okay. 1159 00:59:24,828 --> 00:59:27,134 - "Please pass this bill as a step in the right direction 1160 00:59:27,178 --> 00:59:29,006 towards universal human rights, 1161 00:59:29,049 --> 00:59:31,530 not just human rights for people outside of prison." 1162 00:59:34,098 --> 00:59:35,795 - I was the attorney who actually reviewed 1163 00:59:35,839 --> 00:59:37,492 Kelli Dillon's medical records 1164 00:59:37,536 --> 00:59:40,408 and had the displeasure of having to communicate to her 1165 00:59:40,452 --> 00:59:41,758 that she had been sterilized 1166 00:59:41,801 --> 00:59:43,673 without her knowledge or consent. 1167 00:59:43,716 --> 00:59:47,590 She was one of 10 women in the California prison system 1168 00:59:47,633 --> 00:59:49,983 that I've had that same conversation with, 1169 00:59:50,027 --> 00:59:51,768 all of whom were women of color, 1170 00:59:51,811 --> 00:59:53,683 who were darker skinned women of color 1171 00:59:53,726 --> 00:59:56,207 and/or transgender people. 1172 00:59:56,250 --> 00:59:57,948 I'm incredibly heartfelt 1173 00:59:57,991 --> 00:59:59,645 that this is now being taken seriously 1174 00:59:59,689 --> 01:00:01,212 and I strongly support this bill. 1175 01:00:01,255 --> 01:00:02,517 Thank you. 1176 01:00:02,561 --> 01:00:05,172 - Are there speakers in opposition to the bill? 1177 01:00:05,216 --> 01:00:08,045 - We represent 5,500 obstetricians and gynecologists 1178 01:00:08,088 --> 01:00:09,524 here in California. 1179 01:00:09,568 --> 01:00:11,091 We oppose the bill 1180 01:00:11,135 --> 01:00:13,398 because by completely banning sterilization, 1181 01:00:13,441 --> 01:00:16,488 we're taking away a woman's right to consent to a procedure. 1182 01:00:16,531 --> 01:00:18,882 I've had patients with complex heart conditions. 1183 01:00:18,925 --> 01:00:21,449 If they were undergoing a ceasarean section, 1184 01:00:21,493 --> 01:00:23,800 I would recommend for tubal sterilization, 1185 01:00:23,843 --> 01:00:28,195 given the risks of any subsequent pregnancy to their health. 1186 01:00:28,239 --> 01:00:29,806 For every sterilization procedure 1187 01:00:29,849 --> 01:00:32,199 in which I have personally participated in, 1188 01:00:32,243 --> 01:00:34,637 the patient is asked to not once, not twice 1189 01:00:34,680 --> 01:00:37,117 but dozens of times by multiple providers 1190 01:00:37,161 --> 01:00:38,771 whether or not she would like to proceed 1191 01:00:38,815 --> 01:00:40,033 with the sterilization. 1192 01:00:41,774 --> 01:00:43,646 - [Cynthia] We were shocked that our opposition 1193 01:00:43,689 --> 01:00:45,256 came from the American College 1194 01:00:45,299 --> 01:00:47,693 of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. 1195 01:00:47,737 --> 01:00:49,173 Very few of their members, 1196 01:00:49,216 --> 01:00:51,610 let alone their leadership work in prisons. 1197 01:00:51,654 --> 01:00:53,568 - The priority of ACOG 1198 01:00:53,612 --> 01:00:56,049 is the health and wellbeing of our patients 1199 01:00:56,093 --> 01:00:57,877 and we're hopeful that we can find a process 1200 01:00:57,921 --> 01:01:01,620 through which these women will have access to sterilization. 1201 01:01:01,664 --> 01:01:03,100 - Their testimony 1202 01:01:03,143 --> 01:01:05,885 created a tremendous obstacle for this bill. 1203 01:01:05,929 --> 01:01:08,975 They want people to make reproductive choices, 1204 01:01:09,019 --> 01:01:11,108 but we don't know what goes on in prison. 1205 01:01:11,151 --> 01:01:13,676 The prison is a black hole. 1206 01:01:13,719 --> 01:01:14,894 - Inside a prison setting 1207 01:01:14,938 --> 01:01:16,853 to ask somebody to make a decision like that 1208 01:01:16,896 --> 01:01:19,029 is not a really good ideal. 1209 01:01:19,072 --> 01:01:21,335 People have total control over you. 1210 01:01:21,379 --> 01:01:23,337 If you don't follow the rules 1211 01:01:23,381 --> 01:01:25,775 or anybody simply says that you didn't follow the rule, 1212 01:01:25,818 --> 01:01:28,516 you may have time added to the time you're already serving. 1213 01:01:30,344 --> 01:01:33,696 - We needed to make our case that indeed these procedures 1214 01:01:33,739 --> 01:01:35,523 were being done without consent. 1215 01:01:38,178 --> 01:01:40,050 - [Cynthia] You know, we've been having a really hard time 1216 01:01:40,093 --> 01:01:43,488 identifying who the people were 1217 01:01:43,531 --> 01:01:46,143 who were sterilized while they were giving birth, right? 1218 01:01:47,535 --> 01:01:48,885 As opposed to folks like you 1219 01:01:48,928 --> 01:01:51,757 who were sterilized during other operations. 1220 01:01:51,801 --> 01:01:52,932 And that's one of the reasons 1221 01:01:52,976 --> 01:01:56,327 why it would be so key to feature you. 1222 01:01:56,370 --> 01:01:57,720 I think it's really our best hope 1223 01:01:57,763 --> 01:01:59,765 of stopping the sterilizations 1224 01:01:59,809 --> 01:02:02,637 and we could practice what your testimony's gonna be. 1225 01:02:02,681 --> 01:02:04,335 - Do I have to go in front of like a jury 1226 01:02:04,378 --> 01:02:05,597 or somethin' like that? 1227 01:02:05,640 --> 01:02:07,033 Like what do you mean testify? 1228 01:02:07,077 --> 01:02:09,557 - [Cynthia] When a legislator creates a bill, 1229 01:02:09,601 --> 01:02:12,212 it has to travel in front of a bunch of committees 1230 01:02:12,256 --> 01:02:16,129 before it goes before the whole Senate to vote and then- 1231 01:02:16,173 --> 01:02:19,350 - I have a obligation to back Cynthia. 1232 01:02:19,393 --> 01:02:22,745 Because if it was not for her, I would not have found out 1233 01:02:22,788 --> 01:02:25,443 everything that had happened to me. 1234 01:02:25,486 --> 01:02:30,013 But I couldn't go through like another interview, testimony, 1235 01:02:30,056 --> 01:02:34,017 hearing or anything because once I'm done, 1236 01:02:34,060 --> 01:02:36,671 you know, I leave and I go home and everybody go home. 1237 01:02:36,715 --> 01:02:39,587 But I'm left now with having regurgitated 1238 01:02:39,631 --> 01:02:41,938 all of those emotions and feelings. 1239 01:02:41,981 --> 01:02:44,636 Now they're here, they're here and here 1240 01:02:44,679 --> 01:02:47,204 and then no one's there to help me process it. 1241 01:02:49,423 --> 01:02:52,992 Yes, I have the power to change lives 1242 01:02:53,036 --> 01:02:54,907 with the awareness would happen to me, 1243 01:02:54,951 --> 01:02:57,649 but it's still my story and I still own it. 1244 01:02:59,259 --> 01:03:01,696 I still have the say so of who I wanna tell it to 1245 01:03:01,740 --> 01:03:03,394 and why I wanna tell it. 1246 01:03:03,437 --> 01:03:04,917 It belongs to me. 1247 01:03:10,096 --> 01:03:12,707 [clock ticking] 1248 01:03:18,844 --> 01:03:21,499 - The bill isn't moving forward 1249 01:03:21,542 --> 01:03:24,458 and it's just exhausting everyone. 1250 01:03:24,502 --> 01:03:25,459 It's not just me. 1251 01:03:25,503 --> 01:03:27,592 It's the whole organization. 1252 01:03:27,635 --> 01:03:31,074 And I think on an organizational leadership perspective, 1253 01:03:31,117 --> 01:03:33,641 it's like how long can I continue not just to push myself? 1254 01:03:33,685 --> 01:03:35,818 But how long can I continue to push everyone else? 1255 01:03:44,000 --> 01:03:45,610 What ranking are you on that game now? 1256 01:03:46,698 --> 01:03:48,178 - Aren't you like 30? 1257 01:03:48,221 --> 01:03:49,788 - [Lilah] 29. 1258 01:03:49,832 --> 01:03:51,007 - [Cynthia] 29. Now how may people playing that online game? 1259 01:03:51,050 --> 01:03:53,270 - I can check what place mine is now 1260 01:03:53,313 --> 01:03:55,272 'cause it won't change. - Hundreds of thousands. 1261 01:03:55,315 --> 01:03:56,273 - [Cynthia] Hundreds of thousands? 1262 01:03:56,316 --> 01:03:57,883 - At least. 1263 01:03:57,927 --> 01:04:00,494 - My kids were telling their friends, 1264 01:04:00,538 --> 01:04:01,887 "Oh yeah, that's my mom. 1265 01:04:01,931 --> 01:04:04,194 The champion for everybody else. 1266 01:04:04,237 --> 01:04:06,761 Your always promoting leadership with people inside 1267 01:04:06,805 --> 01:04:08,894 when my friends and I are dealing with all this crap 1268 01:04:08,938 --> 01:04:10,809 at school and you're not helping us." 1269 01:04:10,853 --> 01:04:12,637 And I was like, "Oh my gosh, you're right." 1270 01:04:14,465 --> 01:04:17,642 I spend all my resources and basically all my capacities 1271 01:04:17,685 --> 01:04:18,773 in building up other people 1272 01:04:18,817 --> 01:04:20,558 that I was neglecting my children. 1273 01:04:24,823 --> 01:04:26,129 If this goes nowhere 1274 01:04:26,172 --> 01:04:28,305 and I've lost all that time with my kids, I- 1275 01:04:31,612 --> 01:04:33,223 Yeah, that would just be a shame. 1276 01:04:51,197 --> 01:04:54,287 - [Attorney] What was your thought process 1277 01:04:54,331 --> 01:04:56,246 as to whether or not you wanted to have more children 1278 01:04:56,289 --> 01:04:57,812 when you got out? 1279 01:04:57,856 --> 01:04:59,945 - I had a hope and a possibility that 1280 01:04:59,989 --> 01:05:03,035 I might find a man that would love me and treat me, 1281 01:05:04,558 --> 01:05:06,473 who would love me and that 1282 01:05:07,910 --> 01:05:09,650 I might be able to like have a family 1283 01:05:13,872 --> 01:05:15,004 or a chance to be a mother. 1284 01:05:30,454 --> 01:05:33,196 [group chattering] 1285 01:05:33,239 --> 01:05:34,023 - Hi. 1286 01:05:34,066 --> 01:05:35,154 Good to see you. 1287 01:05:35,198 --> 01:05:37,374 - How you been? - Good, how are you? 1288 01:05:37,417 --> 01:05:39,332 - Oh, I love your haircut. - Thank you. 1289 01:05:39,376 --> 01:05:42,031 Hi Tammy, nice to meet you. 1290 01:05:42,074 --> 01:05:42,901 We ready today? 1291 01:05:44,424 --> 01:05:46,557 All right. [exhales] 1292 01:05:46,600 --> 01:05:48,994 Hard to cram in. - I know. 1293 01:05:49,038 --> 01:05:51,518 - [Kelli] And that's why I was like something so tragic 1294 01:05:51,562 --> 01:05:53,868 in two, three minutes. 1295 01:05:53,912 --> 01:05:55,392 - [Misty] Right. 1296 01:05:55,435 --> 01:05:57,220 - Like how do I sum up? 1297 01:05:58,656 --> 01:06:01,876 I mean how do we sum up what happened 1298 01:06:01,920 --> 01:06:04,053 in two or three minutes, you know? 1299 01:06:04,096 --> 01:06:05,837 - Maybe you should start it out like that. 1300 01:06:05,880 --> 01:06:07,230 "How do I sum up what they did to me 1301 01:06:07,273 --> 01:06:08,709 in two or three minutes?" 1302 01:06:10,102 --> 01:06:11,277 - We're testifying 1303 01:06:11,321 --> 01:06:12,713 in front of the Assembly Health Committee. 1304 01:06:12,757 --> 01:06:13,932 And if it passes that committee, 1305 01:06:13,976 --> 01:06:15,978 then it will go to the assembly floor. 1306 01:06:16,021 --> 01:06:17,631 And if it passes that, 1307 01:06:17,675 --> 01:06:20,678 then it will be going to the governor's desk after that. 1308 01:06:20,721 --> 01:06:22,375 So we're keeping our fingers crossed 1309 01:06:22,419 --> 01:06:24,029 that he will see how important this is 1310 01:06:24,073 --> 01:06:25,422 and sign the bill into law. 1311 01:06:29,948 --> 01:06:33,038 - Now is more so about making it okay 1312 01:06:33,082 --> 01:06:35,954 to say, "Kelli, that did happen." 1313 01:06:35,998 --> 01:06:38,435 Acknowledging that it's a part of me. 1314 01:06:38,478 --> 01:06:39,697 - And then moving forward with that. 1315 01:06:39,740 --> 01:06:41,046 - And moving forward with it. 1316 01:06:41,090 --> 01:06:42,700 - Yeah. 1317 01:06:42,743 --> 01:06:45,659 - It was one thing to fight about what happened, 1318 01:06:45,703 --> 01:06:48,140 but then it's another thing to settle with the fact 1319 01:06:48,184 --> 01:06:52,797 that this is what happened and this is now who you are 1320 01:06:52,840 --> 01:06:55,060 for the rest of your life, period. 1321 01:06:56,714 --> 01:06:59,847 Every time I've dated, and I'm happy. 1322 01:06:59,891 --> 01:07:01,806 I'm ecstatic about the relationship. 1323 01:07:01,849 --> 01:07:03,329 I'm falling in love. 1324 01:07:03,373 --> 01:07:06,550 And then all of a sudden it comes crashing down 1325 01:07:06,593 --> 01:07:09,683 when they say, "I would love to have a kid with you." 1326 01:07:11,816 --> 01:07:15,559 And when they say that, then I really feel unworthy. 1327 01:07:16,603 --> 01:07:17,691 I feel unwhole. 1328 01:07:19,563 --> 01:07:22,392 You know, I feel ashamed. 1329 01:07:24,437 --> 01:07:25,612 And so there's a part of me 1330 01:07:25,656 --> 01:07:27,484 that's tired of feeling that way too. 1331 01:07:27,527 --> 01:07:30,661 [tense music] 1332 01:07:53,858 --> 01:07:56,774 - I have with me here today Kelli Dillon. 1333 01:07:56,817 --> 01:07:59,168 She is a domestic violence counselor, 1334 01:07:59,211 --> 01:08:01,474 a gang interventionist. 1335 01:08:01,518 --> 01:08:04,434 She has dedicated her life to ending violence 1336 01:08:04,477 --> 01:08:06,175 against women in her community 1337 01:08:06,218 --> 01:08:09,830 and also experienced sterilization abuse 1338 01:08:09,874 --> 01:08:12,833 while imprisoned here in California 1339 01:08:12,877 --> 01:08:15,140 and is here today to share her story. 1340 01:08:16,707 --> 01:08:20,232 - I am a survivor of non-consensual, unlawful sterilization 1341 01:08:20,276 --> 01:08:23,714 that was performed on me at the age of 24 in 2001 1342 01:08:23,757 --> 01:08:27,109 while I was a inmate in Central California Women's Facility. 1343 01:08:28,501 --> 01:08:31,852 I'm here to testify that what this bill represents is real 1344 01:08:31,896 --> 01:08:33,419 for the women that are incarcerated 1345 01:08:33,463 --> 01:08:34,855 and this thing has happened to. 1346 01:08:36,074 --> 01:08:38,903 I wanted a second chance at life 1347 01:08:38,946 --> 01:08:40,861 and I wanted a second chance at being a mother. 1348 01:08:43,212 --> 01:08:44,691 I trusted. 1349 01:08:44,735 --> 01:08:47,738 [Kelli sobbing] [gentle music] 1350 01:08:49,261 --> 01:08:53,526 I trusted the surgeon to respect and to acknowledge 1351 01:08:55,311 --> 01:08:57,704 that I still had a future and that I wanted one. 1352 01:09:00,229 --> 01:09:02,666 I feel like I've been robbed of the fullness 1353 01:09:02,709 --> 01:09:04,320 that could have been given to me 1354 01:09:04,363 --> 01:09:06,539 had this not happened to me. 1355 01:09:06,583 --> 01:09:09,281 Did this happen to me because I was African-American? 1356 01:09:09,325 --> 01:09:11,588 Did it happen to me because I was a woman? 1357 01:09:11,631 --> 01:09:13,503 Did it happen to me because I was an inmate? 1358 01:09:13,546 --> 01:09:15,679 Or did it happen to me because I was all three? 1359 01:09:18,725 --> 01:09:21,380 As I'm sitting here listening to myself, 1360 01:09:21,424 --> 01:09:25,341 I'm saying to myself like damn, this is a sad-ass story. 1361 01:09:25,384 --> 01:09:27,125 Where the fuck is my happy ending? 1362 01:09:28,431 --> 01:09:30,868 I deserve a fresh new start. 1363 01:09:32,174 --> 01:09:33,784 I'm ready to fall in love. 1364 01:09:33,827 --> 01:09:36,134 I'm ready to be loved. 1365 01:09:36,178 --> 01:09:38,310 I'm ready to have a home. 1366 01:09:38,354 --> 01:09:40,921 I'm ready to see the world. 1367 01:09:40,965 --> 01:09:43,141 I'm a good person 1368 01:09:43,185 --> 01:09:45,752 that a lot of fucked up shit has happened to. 1369 01:09:47,145 --> 01:09:48,407 I'm ready. 1370 01:09:48,451 --> 01:09:52,237 I am so, so ready. 1371 01:09:52,281 --> 01:09:53,934 I just want to finish up by saying 1372 01:09:53,978 --> 01:09:56,241 that this bill will help to protect other women 1373 01:09:56,285 --> 01:09:59,723 who have the opportunity to be rehabilitated 1374 01:09:59,766 --> 01:10:02,508 and to actually restore the quality of their life 1375 01:10:02,552 --> 01:10:04,945 and the gift that life has to offer 1376 01:10:04,989 --> 01:10:08,340 which is motherhood and having children. 1377 01:10:08,384 --> 01:10:11,996 As a survivor of non-consensual, unlawful sterilization, 1378 01:10:12,039 --> 01:10:13,737 I'm asking you to approve this bill. 1379 01:10:16,000 --> 01:10:18,698 - atherine Williams with the ACLU of California in support. 1380 01:10:19,743 --> 01:10:21,310 - Emma Hartung of Legal Services 1381 01:10:21,353 --> 01:10:24,313 for Prisoners with Children in strong support. 1382 01:10:24,356 --> 01:10:26,489 - Rebecca Gonzales, National Association of Social Workers 1383 01:10:26,532 --> 01:10:27,620 California chapter in support. 1384 01:10:28,752 --> 01:10:30,362 - They all said aye. 1385 01:10:30,406 --> 01:10:31,885 - Yes, so? [Kelli exhales] 1386 01:10:31,929 --> 01:10:34,671 [people chattering] 1387 01:10:38,327 --> 01:10:40,633 [group chattering] 1388 01:10:40,677 --> 01:10:41,547 We're a team. 1389 01:10:41,591 --> 01:10:44,376 This was an amazing team today. 1390 01:10:44,420 --> 01:10:46,160 [gentle music] 1391 01:10:51,209 --> 01:10:53,167 - [Reporter] Governor Jerry Brown has signed a bill 1392 01:10:53,211 --> 01:10:57,041 bringing an end to forced prison sterilization. 1393 01:11:01,654 --> 01:11:03,830 - The bill passed with bipartisan support. 1394 01:11:04,875 --> 01:11:06,703 It's criminal behavior now to do this 1395 01:11:06,746 --> 01:11:10,272 and we've let the corrections system know they're on record. 1396 01:11:10,315 --> 01:11:12,274 - [Cynthia] They cannot sterilize people in prison 1397 01:11:12,317 --> 01:11:15,451 for the purpose of birth control ever again. 1398 01:11:15,494 --> 01:11:17,366 - This bill will set a standard 1399 01:11:17,409 --> 01:11:20,934 for the other prisons throughout United States. 1400 01:11:20,978 --> 01:11:22,588 Because this is not just happening here 1401 01:11:22,632 --> 01:11:23,937 in the state of California. 1402 01:11:23,981 --> 01:11:25,852 It's actually happening all over. 1403 01:11:25,896 --> 01:11:27,289 - I've thought from the very beginning 1404 01:11:27,332 --> 01:11:29,465 that this bill should've been called the 1405 01:11:29,508 --> 01:11:34,208 Kelli Dillon Anti-coercive Sterilization Bill, you know. 1406 01:11:34,252 --> 01:11:34,818 I think, 1407 01:11:36,646 --> 01:11:40,650 but for her inspiration and her courage early, early on, 1408 01:11:40,693 --> 01:11:41,912 Justice Now wouldn't have even been 1409 01:11:41,955 --> 01:11:43,435 investigating this stuff. 1410 01:11:43,479 --> 01:11:45,394 We would never would've found out about the abuses, 1411 01:11:45,437 --> 01:11:47,265 let alone would there have been a bill. 1412 01:11:47,309 --> 01:11:48,788 - This is just the beginning. 1413 01:11:48,832 --> 01:11:50,747 This is just the beginning. 1414 01:11:52,270 --> 01:11:54,011 [group chattering] 1415 01:11:55,491 --> 01:11:56,579 - Look at the fucking shoes! 1416 01:11:56,622 --> 01:11:58,058 [group laughing] 1417 01:11:58,102 --> 01:12:00,713 Look, everybody look at our founder's shoes! 1418 01:12:02,585 --> 01:12:04,935 - Aren't they fun? - They are really fun. 1419 01:12:04,978 --> 01:12:07,720 - When people say, "Oh, we can't change the prison system," 1420 01:12:07,764 --> 01:12:08,808 yes, we can. 1421 01:12:08,852 --> 01:12:10,462 Because we are. 1422 01:12:10,506 --> 01:12:12,899 We are change. We are proof that it can happen. 1423 01:12:12,943 --> 01:12:14,553 [group cheering] 1424 01:12:14,597 --> 01:12:17,643 Our mission of Justice Now is to have formerly incarcerated 1425 01:12:17,687 --> 01:12:19,689 and women that are on the board 1426 01:12:19,732 --> 01:12:21,952 have the chance to come into Justice Now 1427 01:12:21,995 --> 01:12:24,911 and transition into bigger leadership roles 1428 01:12:24,955 --> 01:12:26,957 and run Justice Now. 1429 01:12:27,000 --> 01:12:28,350 ♪ Make up your mind 1430 01:12:28,393 --> 01:12:29,438 ♪ What you searching for 1431 01:12:29,481 --> 01:12:30,395 ♪ Is it money 1432 01:12:30,439 --> 01:12:34,660 ♪ Is it something like freedom 1433 01:12:34,704 --> 01:12:38,055 ♪ Nothin' against myself 1434 01:12:38,098 --> 01:12:41,972 ♪ But I can really see myself 1435 01:12:42,015 --> 01:12:44,148 ♪ Come around, come around, come around ♪ 1436 01:12:44,191 --> 01:12:45,889 ♪ Now I'm holding it back 1437 01:12:45,932 --> 01:12:48,457 - I was just talking to my son, right? 1438 01:12:48,500 --> 01:12:50,720 And I was telling him about the graduation 1439 01:12:50,763 --> 01:12:53,897 because I never got a chance to do those things. 1440 01:12:53,940 --> 01:12:55,812 The first time I didn't get a chance to graduate 1441 01:12:55,855 --> 01:12:58,815 because of me being a teenage mom, 1442 01:12:58,858 --> 01:13:00,382 then I didn't get a chance to graduate 1443 01:13:00,425 --> 01:13:01,992 from medical assisting school 1444 01:13:02,035 --> 01:13:04,603 because of the domestic violence and abuse. 1445 01:13:04,647 --> 01:13:06,257 And me coming home from prison, 1446 01:13:06,300 --> 01:13:08,259 like this means everything to me. 1447 01:13:08,302 --> 01:13:11,436 [smooth rhythmic music] 1448 01:13:23,535 --> 01:13:25,363 - [Emcee] Kelli Dillon. 1449 01:13:25,407 --> 01:13:26,582 ♪ Make up your mind 1450 01:13:26,625 --> 01:13:28,453 ♪ What you searching for 1451 01:13:28,497 --> 01:13:29,454 ♪ Stake your claim 1452 01:13:29,498 --> 01:13:30,760 ♪ Is it fame 1453 01:13:30,803 --> 01:13:33,327 ♪ Do you see your name in lights ♪ 1454 01:13:33,371 --> 01:13:34,546 ♪ Make up your mind 1455 01:13:34,590 --> 01:13:36,243 ♪ What you searching for 1456 01:13:36,287 --> 01:13:37,244 ♪ Is it money 1457 01:13:37,288 --> 01:13:40,770 ♪ Is it somethin' like freedom 1458 01:13:51,389 --> 01:13:53,783 [birds chirping] 1459 01:14:03,009 --> 01:14:05,490 - [Cynthia] The bill is the culmination 1460 01:14:05,534 --> 01:14:07,492 of my work at Justice Now, 1461 01:14:09,712 --> 01:14:12,105 but there's still so much that needs to be done. 1462 01:14:16,458 --> 01:14:20,723 I'm frustrated this isn't a bigger national conversation. 1463 01:14:23,682 --> 01:14:25,684 We can't afford to forget. 1464 01:14:25,728 --> 01:14:28,731 [soft solemn music] 1465 01:14:34,519 --> 01:14:37,391 - The bill was so needed because 1466 01:14:37,435 --> 01:14:39,002 Department of Corrections had been spitting on 1467 01:14:39,045 --> 01:14:42,005 women's sterilization problem for years. 1468 01:14:43,223 --> 01:14:45,399 - But now that there's been a small victory, 1469 01:14:45,443 --> 01:14:47,489 they're blocking advocates 1470 01:14:47,532 --> 01:14:50,317 or anyone who's coming in from the outside 1471 01:14:50,361 --> 01:14:53,669 from being able to come in freely to interview inmates. 1472 01:14:55,497 --> 01:14:56,585 - [Cynthia] There are women today 1473 01:14:56,628 --> 01:14:58,456 that need reproductive care 1474 01:14:58,500 --> 01:15:03,200 but absolutely cannot get it because of the retaliation. 1475 01:15:05,594 --> 01:15:07,117 - [Inmate] The doctor told me, 1476 01:15:07,160 --> 01:15:09,685 "Thanks to your fellow inmates, I'm not doing nothing." 1477 01:15:11,948 --> 01:15:14,864 - [Corey] When they say that CDC is the belly of the beast, 1478 01:15:14,907 --> 01:15:16,126 it's literal. 1479 01:15:16,169 --> 01:15:18,128 [soft intriguing music] 1480 01:15:18,171 --> 01:15:19,172 [doors banging] 1481 01:15:20,522 --> 01:15:23,525 - We have yet to get an apology. 1482 01:15:23,568 --> 01:15:25,918 We have yet to be acknowledged. 1483 01:15:28,094 --> 01:15:31,315 We have to crack this thing wide open. 1484 01:15:31,358 --> 01:15:34,579 CDC has to be made accountable. 1485 01:15:42,239 --> 01:15:45,503 - So yes to me, that's a good thing. 1486 01:15:47,200 --> 01:15:51,291 As to whether I think it should be illegal? 1487 01:15:51,335 --> 01:15:53,990 [mysterious music] 1488 01:15:55,121 --> 01:15:55,774 Not necessarily. 1489 01:15:57,820 --> 01:16:00,779 Even if it's not medically necessary, 1490 01:16:02,999 --> 01:16:07,699 it could or would in the long run save state funds 1491 01:16:08,657 --> 01:16:09,745 like doctor has said. 1492 01:16:13,052 --> 01:16:15,011 So, 1493 01:16:15,054 --> 01:16:17,753 you know, was he wrong in that estimation? 1494 01:16:17,796 --> 01:16:18,623 Probably not. 1495 01:16:20,625 --> 01:16:21,713 Because 1496 01:16:23,846 --> 01:16:26,631 as I said the ideal time to do a tubal 1497 01:16:28,502 --> 01:16:30,113 is when you're already in there. 1498 01:16:33,856 --> 01:16:37,424 It just takes a couple more minutes and a couple more snips. 1499 01:17:24,036 --> 01:17:25,559 - Good morning, Mr. Chair and members. 1500 01:17:25,603 --> 01:17:29,694 I'm here to proudly present Assembly Bill 1764 1501 01:17:29,738 --> 01:17:31,870 which will provide redress to people 1502 01:17:31,914 --> 01:17:34,046 who were involuntarily sterilized 1503 01:17:34,090 --> 01:17:36,745 under California's previous eugenics laws 1504 01:17:36,788 --> 01:17:39,269 and female inmates in California state prisons 1505 01:17:39,312 --> 01:17:42,272 who were sterilized without proper authorization. 1506 01:17:42,315 --> 01:17:44,491 This bill provides material acknowledgement 1507 01:17:44,535 --> 01:17:46,537 of this injustice 1508 01:17:46,580 --> 01:17:49,322 by creating the Forced Sterilization Compensation Program. 1509 01:17:49,366 --> 01:17:51,803 [uplifting music] 1510 01:17:58,723 --> 01:18:00,986 ♪ Ooh 1511 01:18:01,030 --> 01:18:03,554 - Like I always talked about where's the happy ending? 1512 01:18:03,597 --> 01:18:06,122 Like no, I'm unsatisfied. 1513 01:18:06,165 --> 01:18:07,427 There gotta be a happy ending. 1514 01:18:07,471 --> 01:18:08,341 I watch too much, 1515 01:18:08,385 --> 01:18:10,430 well I live in LA and Hollywood. 1516 01:18:10,474 --> 01:18:12,215 It has to be a fucking happy ending. 1517 01:18:12,258 --> 01:18:14,521 Like there has to be happy ending somewhere. 1518 01:18:14,565 --> 01:18:17,350 ♪ What's going on 1519 01:18:17,394 --> 01:18:20,353 ♪ When I gotta fight for a right that is rightfully mine ♪ 1520 01:18:20,397 --> 01:18:23,182 ♪ What's going on 1521 01:18:23,226 --> 01:18:26,229 ♪ When the world can decide if a caged bird flies ♪ 1522 01:18:26,272 --> 01:18:28,753 ♪ Or ever get a chance to grow 1523 01:18:28,797 --> 01:18:31,800 ♪ Too many people are invisible ♪ 1524 01:18:31,843 --> 01:18:33,149 ♪ It's a problem 1525 01:18:33,192 --> 01:18:34,933 ♪ How can we ignore what's going on ♪ 1526 01:18:34,977 --> 01:18:36,413 ♪ I got questions I need answers ♪ 1527 01:18:36,456 --> 01:18:37,762 ♪ It's been too long 1528 01:18:37,806 --> 01:18:39,155 ♪ Why 1529 01:18:39,198 --> 01:18:40,634 ♪ I cry 1530 01:18:40,678 --> 01:18:44,769 ♪ Oh why do these tears keep running dry ♪ 1531 01:18:44,813 --> 01:18:48,860 ♪ But I just keep fighting 1532 01:18:48,904 --> 01:18:51,602 ♪ 'Cause it ain't over 1533 01:18:51,645 --> 01:18:54,605 ♪ Till it's over 1534 01:18:54,648 --> 01:18:57,608 ♪ It ain't over till it's done 1535 01:18:57,651 --> 01:19:00,437 ♪ Till these shackles are broken ♪ 1536 01:19:00,480 --> 01:19:03,875 ♪ It ain't over 1537 01:19:03,919 --> 01:19:05,224 ♪ 'Cause some wounds never heal ♪ 1538 01:19:05,268 --> 01:19:06,835 ♪ Do you see what you done 1539 01:19:06,878 --> 01:19:09,620 ♪ See what you done 1540 01:19:09,663 --> 01:19:10,969 ♪ 'Cause some wounds never heal ♪ 1541 01:19:11,013 --> 01:19:12,797 ♪ Do you see what you done 1542 01:19:12,841 --> 01:19:15,365 ♪ See you what you done 1543 01:19:15,408 --> 01:19:16,758 ♪ 'Cause some wounds never heal ♪ 1544 01:19:16,801 --> 01:19:18,411 ♪ Do you see what you done 1545 01:19:18,455 --> 01:19:20,457 ♪ What's going on 1546 01:19:20,500 --> 01:19:23,155 ♪ We got strength but no power 1547 01:19:23,199 --> 01:19:26,376 ♪ All we ever wanted was what's ours ♪ 1548 01:19:26,419 --> 01:19:31,076 ♪ Then one day we wake up and everything has changed ♪ 1549 01:19:31,860 --> 01:19:33,600 ♪ Who can I blame 1550 01:19:33,644 --> 01:19:37,082 ♪ Who's gonna carry the shame 1551 01:19:37,126 --> 01:19:41,260 ♪ After all this pain I'll never be the same ♪ 1552 01:19:41,304 --> 01:19:42,740 ♪ Why 1553 01:19:42,784 --> 01:19:44,220 ♪ I cry 1554 01:19:44,263 --> 01:19:45,787 ♪ Oh why 1555 01:19:45,830 --> 01:19:48,659 ♪ But while I still got time 1556 01:19:48,702 --> 01:19:52,489 ♪ I'll just keep on fighting 1557 01:19:52,532 --> 01:19:53,664 ♪ 'Cause it ain't over 1558 01:19:53,707 --> 01:19:55,405 ♪ No, it ain't over 1559 01:19:55,448 --> 01:19:58,451 ♪ Till it's over 1560 01:19:58,495 --> 01:20:01,237 ♪ It ain't over till it's done 1561 01:20:01,280 --> 01:20:04,022 ♪ Till these shackles are broken ♪ 1562 01:20:04,066 --> 01:20:06,024 ♪ It ain't over 1563 01:20:06,068 --> 01:20:07,504 ♪ Ooh 1564 01:20:07,547 --> 01:20:08,679 ♪ 'Cause some wounds never heal ♪ 1565 01:20:08,722 --> 01:20:10,637 ♪ Do you see what you done 1566 01:20:10,681 --> 01:20:13,031 ♪ See what you done 1567 01:20:13,075 --> 01:20:14,467 ♪ 'Cause some wounds never heal ♪ 1568 01:20:14,511 --> 01:20:16,469 ♪ Can you see what you done 1569 01:20:16,513 --> 01:20:17,644 ♪ See what you done 1570 01:20:17,688 --> 01:20:18,863 ♪ Oh 1571 01:20:18,907 --> 01:20:20,430 ♪ 'Cause some wounds never heal ♪ 1572 01:20:20,473 --> 01:20:21,953 ♪ Do you see what you done 1573 01:20:21,997 --> 01:20:23,650 ♪ Now we won't lay down 1574 01:20:23,694 --> 01:20:25,000 ♪ We're survivors 1575 01:20:25,043 --> 01:20:27,872 ♪ All my scars are my reminders ♪ 1576 01:20:27,916 --> 01:20:29,439 ♪ We won't lay down 1577 01:20:29,482 --> 01:20:31,006 ♪ We're survivors 1578 01:20:31,049 --> 01:20:33,225 ♪ All my scars are my reminders ♪ 1579 01:20:33,269 --> 01:20:36,446 ♪ 'Cause it ain't over 1580 01:20:36,489 --> 01:20:39,492 ♪ 'Cause it ain't over 1581 01:21:10,393 --> 01:21:12,395 [soft soothing music]