Pen. Code, § 4023.6 · Chapter 1. County Jails
Pen. Code, § 4023.6
Text — As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
(a) Any incarcerated person in any local detention facility shall have the right to summon and receive the services of any physician, nurse practitioner, certified nurse midwife, or physician assistant of their choice in order to determine whether they are pregnant. The superintendent of the facility may adopt reasonable rules and regulations with regard to the conduct of examinations to effectuate the determination.
(b) If the incarcerated person is found to be pregnant, they are entitled to a determination of the extent of the medical and surgical services needed and to the receipt of such services from the physician, nurse practitioner, certified nurse midwife, or physician assistant of their choice. Any expenses occasioned by the services of a physician, nurse practitioner, certified nurse midwife, or physician assistant whose services are not provided by the facility shall be borne by the incarcerated person.
(c) For the purposes of this section, “local detention facility” means any city, county, or regional facility used for the confinement of any female prisoner for more than 24 hours.
(d) (1) Any physician providing services pursuant to this section shall possess a current, valid, and unrevoked certificate to engage in the practice of medicine issued pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 2000) of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code.
(2) A nurse practitioner providing services pursuant to this section shall possess a current, valid, and unrevoked certificate issued pursuant to Article 8 (commencing with Section 2834) of Chapter 6 of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code.
(3) A certified nurse midwife providing services pursuant to this section shall possess a current, valid, and unrevoked certificate issued pursuant to Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 2746) of Chapter 6 of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code.
(4) A physician assistant providing services pursuant to this section shall possess a current, valid, and unrevoked certificate issued pursuant to Chapter 7.7 (commencing with Section 3500) of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code.
(e) The rights provided by this section shall be posted in at least one conspicuous place to which all incarcerated persons capable of becoming pregnant have access.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Amended by Stats. 2020, Ch. 321, Sec. 6. (AB 732) Effective January 1, 2021.
Source of truth
- Edition
- As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
- Official file
- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PEN§ionNum=4023.6.
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- sha256 60dc7ccc8131bd998e4ea1a2b1af267ec669547a3e1007edb153f049d8c67d8a
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- compose_ca.py 2026-10-22: the Legislative Counsel's CAML content files read by a tokenizer (caml_readers.reader_a); an independent xml.etree reading (caml_readers.reader_b) agrees on every section
This section cites
Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.
Business and Professions Code
- Bus. & Prof. Code, div. 2, ch. 5MedicinePrinted as Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 2000) of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code
- Bus. & Prof. Code, div. 2, ch. 6, art. 2.5Nurse-MidwivesPrinted as Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 2746) of Chapter 6 of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code
- Bus. & Prof. Code, div. 2, ch. 6, art. 8Nurse PractitionersPrinted as Article 8 (commencing with Section 2834) of Chapter 6 of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code
- Bus. & Prof. Code, div. 2, ch. 7.7Physician AssistantsPrinted as Chapter 7.7 (commencing with Section 3500) of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.