California Penal Code

§ 4023.8

PEN § 4023.8 Effective Jan 1, 2021Title 4 · Part 3 · Ch. 1

Statute text

(a)A person incarcerated in a county jail who is identified as possibly pregnant or capable of becoming pregnant during an intake health examination or at any time during incarceration shall be offered a pregnancy test upon intake or by request, within seventy-two hours of arrival at the jail. Pregnancy tests shall be voluntary and not mandatory, and may only be administered by medical or nursing personnel. An incarcerated person who declines a pregnancy test shall be asked to sign an “Informed Refusal of Pregnancy Test” form that shall become part of their medical file.

(b)An incarcerated person with a positive pregnancy test result shall be offered comprehensive and unbiased options counseling that includes information about prenatal health care, adoption, and abortion. This counseling shall be furnished by a licensed health care provider or counselor who has been provided with training in reproductive health care and shall be nondirective, unbiased, and noncoercive. Jail staff shall not urge, force, or otherwise influence a pregnant person’s decision.

(c)A jail shall not confer authority or discretion to nonmedical jail staff to decide if a pregnant person is eligible for an abortion. If a pregnant person decides to have an abortion, that person shall be offered, but not forced to accept, all due medical care and accommodations until they are no longer pregnant. A pregnant person who decides to have an abortion shall be referred to a licensed professional specified in subdivision (b) of Section 2253 of Business and Professions Code.

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Legislative history

Added by Stats. 2020, Ch. 321, Sec. 7. (AB 732) Effective January 1, 2021.