A jail in White County, Tennessee, is offering reduced sentences to inmates who agree to a vasectomy or birth control implant, ABC 15 reported Wednesday.
Inmates who volunteer are rewarded with 30 days less jail time under an order signed in May by Judge Sam Benningfield. The judge told ABC 15 he hopes the procedures, provided for free by the Tennessee Department of Health, will reduce the number of repeat offenders who can’t afford child support.
For more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/tennessee-inmates-vasectomy_us_59710906e4b0e79ec1982341
Of course the ACLU objects:
In Tennessee, the inmates are voluntarily undergoing the procedure ― but the American Civil Liberties Union said the program still violates the Constitution.
“Offering a so-called ‘choice’ between jail time and coerced contraception or sterilization is unconstitutional,” the group said in a statement. “Such a choice violates the fundamental constitutional right to reproductive autonomy and bodily integrity by interfering with the intimate decision of whether and when to have a child, imposing an intrusive medical procedure on individuals who are not in a position to reject it.” "Coerced" – is that the right word for this choice?
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