California has passed a new law that bans sterilization procedures on inmate populations in California prisons.

The law was passed by the Senate in a unanimous vote and is currently awaiting a signature from California’s governor, Jerry Brown (Dem). Under the new law, prisons will not be allowed to utilize sterilization surgeries for inmates without pressing medical necessity, such as a direct threat to their lives. Only when less invasive procedures are no longer an option will the surgery be approved.

Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson wrote the bill after an advocacy group for inmate rights, the Center for Investigative Reporting, filed a complaint about the failure of the state to obtain proper informed consent on many of the tubal ligations performed in the correctional facilities within the state.

An audit of prison records confirmed the issue. Released in June, the audit revealed that errors in obtaining informed consent were routinely present. 39 of 144 female inmates who had underwent the procedure between 2005 and 2011 showed mistakes of this nature in the paperwork surrounding their surgeries.

Physician signatures on consent forms were missing from 27 of the cases discovered by the audit. Violations of the waiting period mandatory for this type of procedure were found in 18 of the 39 cases. Evidence of document tampering was uncovered by the audit, indicating that physicians had altered dates to make it appear that the waiting period had passed. There were 12 cases where the procedure was performed less than seven days after the request was filed. California law requires a waiting period of 30 to 180 days before the surgery can be carried out.

All but one of the cases examined included some form of improper authorization taking place.

The new law is meant to protect women from being “forced or coerced” into getting their tubes tied, according to Jackson. “Pressuring a vulnerable population into making permanent reproductive choices without informed consent violates our most basic human rights,” she said.