A class-action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of a Pasadena mother claiming she was denied postpartum care based on her race.
A complaint filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California names directors of public health for the Pasadena, Los Angeles County and California health departments as well as the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and Pasadena Public Health Department as defendants.
Erica Jimenez gave birth to her first child and sought support from the Black Infant Health program. According to the complaint, Jimenez qualified in every respect except her race and was denied services. The lawsuit said, “countless other pregnant and new mothers across California suffer the same exclusion.”
“Despite over three decades of the Black Infant Health program’s existence, the City of Pasadena asserts a continuing disparity in black maternal and infant health outcomes,” Jimenez’s lead attorney Andrew Quinio said in a statement. “Not only is this long-running program unconstitutional for excluding mothers from its services based on race, it appears to be wholly ineffective. That is why our client’s lawsuit challenging the program for discriminating against her is so important. The government cannot continue unlawful and discriminatory programs that simply do not work.”
The city of Pasadena and California Department of Public Health declined to comment. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health did not respond with comment.
The complaint alleges violation of the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment and intentional discrimination in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.
Plaintiffs are requesting a declaration that the program violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment and the Civil Right Act, a permanent injunction against the program from excluding people based on race, awarding of attorney fees and nominal damages in the amount of $1.
“California’s program treats race as a stand-in for need — assuming that only mothers of one race deserve or require the help this program offers,” Quinio said. “Drawing a line around a public benefit program and saying only certain races may enter is precisely the kind of discrimination the Equal Protection Clause prohibits.”
According to the Pacific Legal Foundation, the firm representing Jimenez, the government’s response to the complaint is due Tuesday, May 5. A court date of Wednesday, May 13, has been scheduled to argue the plaintiff’s preliminary injunction motion.