Which Way, L.A.?
Women Sterilized in California State Prisons
Forced sterilization is illegal in California, but there's evidence that women inmates in two state prisons were pressured into being sterilized as recently as 2010.
By Warren Olney • • 26m ListenForced sterilization is illegal in California, but there's evidence that women inmates in two state prisons were pressured into being sterilized as recently as 2010. Did the operations prevent future health risks or help the state save money? Were they performed against the women's will? Also, LA's budget for summer school cut from $42 million to $1 million, and the last of two original navel orange trees is threatened by insects after 140 years.
On our rebroadcast of today's To the Point, the military's ouster of Egypt's first elected president has created a dangerous moment for an uneasy coalition trying to prevent violence and restore democracy.
Banner image: California Institution for Women in Corona
In this episode
3 storiesLAUSD's Much Reduced Summer School Program
LA Unified used to offer summer school at more than 100 high schools. Now it's down to 16. The recession and other priorities cut the budget from $42 million to $1 million. For the second year in a row, summer school's only available for students who failed a class, presuming that class is even available.
Read the story7 minDid Prison Officials Violate State Law?
Fifty years ago, forced sterilization of prisoners, the mentally ill and the poor was common in California. The legislature banned the practice in 1979, but as recently as 2010 former inmates and staff workers say, almost 250 women were given sterilization procedures in state prisons without official approval.
Read the story11 minAmerica's First Navel Orange Tree
At an intersection ringed with apartment houses and a strip mall in Riverside stands the Eliza Tibbets tree, which made history 140 years ago. It's one of two mutant specimens imported from Brazil to produce the first navel oranges in the US. Now it's in trouble.
Read the story7 min