PRENATAL CARE: Case Will Be Heard Next Week
A state appellate court Wednesday "refused to delay oral arguments on the legality of ex-Gov. Pete Wilson's attempt to cut off prenatal care to undocumented immigrants," the Sacramento Bee reports. While Gov. Gray Davis "apparently opposes" the policy, he has yet to sign legislation that would authorize the provision of prenatal care because it is "tied up in an omnibus bill that Davis has balked at because of unrelated provisions." Wilson sought to end the program in 1996, but it "has been kept alive by a series of interim judicial orders" since then. Oral arguments are scheduled for next Wednesday. Senior Assistant Attorney General John Sugiyama, who previously represented the Wilson administration, "said he'll argue in favor of reversing a lower court victory won by heath care organizations and other opponents of the aid cutoff" (Cooper, 7/15).
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