Section 1459.

No county hospital which permits sterilization operations for contraceptive purposes to be performed therein, nor the medical staff of such hospital, shall require the individual upon whom such a sterilization operation is to be performed to meet any special nonmedical qualifications, which are not imposed on individuals seeking other types of operations in the hospital. Such prohibited nonmedical qualifications shall include, but not be limited to, age, marital status, and number of natural children.

Nothing in this section shall prohibit requirements relating to the physical or mental condition of the individual or affect the right of the attending physician to counsel or advise his patient as to whether or not sterilization is appropriate. This section shall not affect existing law with respect to individuals below the age of majority.

(Added by Stats. 1972, Ch. 1425.)