PRENATAL CARE: Davis Stalls on Immigrant Care Decision
After Gov. Gray Davis intimated a dramatic shift from his predecessor by vowing to support state-subsidized prenatal care for illegal immigrants, and followed through with a $70 million budget allocation, Davis appears to be waffling, the AP/Capitol Alert reports. As oral arguments loom in the case pitting three illegal immigrants, two clinics and the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California against Davis, the governor has not yet decided what to do.
Former Gov. Pete Wilson filed an appeal after a state court blocked his regulation that made pregnant illegal immigrants ineligible for Medi-Cal. Davis inherited the Wilson appeal, which is scheduled to begin May 26 in San Francisco. Although "Davis has given no sign whether he intends to drop or pursue the case," one plaintiff lawyer says he believes Davis is leaning toward continuing Wilson's aim to cut off aid. Attorney Mark Savage said, "It seems like if the governor's announced intentions to the public of California were above board, then this (appeal) would have been pulled a long time ago." The "thorny immigration issue" marks the second time Davis has wrestled with his predecessor's immigration policy, the AP/Capitol Alert reports, noting that his current "quandary mirrors the one he confronted in Proposition 187" (5/12).