California Penal Code

§ 3409

PEN § 3409 Effective Jan 1, 2025Title 2 · Part 3 · Ch. 3

Statute text

(a)A person incarcerated in state prison who menstruates or experiences uterine or vaginal bleeding shall, without needing to request, have ready access to, and be allowed to use, materials necessary for personal hygiene with regard to their menstrual cycle and reproductive system, including, but not limited to, sanitary pads and tampons, at no cost to the person. A person incarcerated in state prison who is capable of becoming pregnant shall, upon request, have access to, and be allowed to obtain, contraceptive counseling and their choice of birth control methods, subject to the provisions of subdivision (b), unless medically contraindicated.

(b)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), all birth control methods and emergency contraception approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) shall be made available to incarcerated persons who are capable of becoming pregnant, with the exception of sterilizing procedures prohibited by Section 3440.

(2)The California Correctional Health Care Services shall establish a formulary that consists of all FDA-approved birth control methods and that shall be available to persons specified in subdivision (a). If a birth control method has more than one FDA-approved therapeutic equivalent, only one version of that method shall be required to be made available, unless another version is specifically indicated by a prescribing provider and approved by the chief medical physician at the facility. A person shall have access to nonprescription birth control methods without the requirement to see a licensed health care provider.

…

Legislative history

Amended by Stats. 2024, Ch. 939, Sec. 1. (AB 1810) Effective January 1, 2025.