California Attorney General Rob Bonta has sent a letter to county sheriffs throughout the state, telling them they need to make sure pregnant women in jail receive the proper health care and that all women get the menstrual products they need.
The letter was sent Friday in response to reports that some counties have failed to provide incarcerated with the proper care, Bonta's office said.
that 29 women at the time had sued the sheriff in the four years prior, alleging civil rights violations, medical malpractice and emotional distress. One woman sued after she was ordered, but refused, to take off her top in front of men. Another sued after she alleged deputies refused to give her a menstrual pad for more than six hours despite asking for one multiple times. Several other plaintiffs complained of foul odors and unsanitary conditions.
Bonta said he will also be conducting a review of the jails' performance, to make sure sheriffs are upholding AB 732, which he wrote when he was an Assemblyman, and which was passed into law in August 2020.