California conditions access to a publicly funded maternal health program on race. Under the State’s Black Infant Health (BIH) program, pregnant women and new mothers may receive prenatal and postpartum support services—including counseling, medical referrals, and family guidance—but only if they satisfy a racial eligibility requirement. Applicants who do not identify as African American, or who are not carrying or parenting an African American child, are categorically excluded.
That policy is not an abstraction. It is enforced in practice.
Only weeks before her due date, 33-year-old Erica Jimenez, pregnant with her first child, was informed by a program coordinator that she was ineligible for BIH services solely because of her race.
Erica filed a lawsuit to challenge the program for discriminating against applicants based on race.
Her lawsuit argues that the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment requires that government programs distributing benefits on the basis of race meet the most demanding standard in constitutional review: strict scrutiny. Under that standard, a racial classification must serve a compelling government interest, must be narrowly tailored to achieve it, and must have a logical end-point. California’s program fails on every count.
The BIH program also violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in programs receiving federal financial assistance. California accepts federal funding for BIH—and with that funding comes an obligation not to discriminate on those bases.
California has race-neutral tools available to address health disparities. To the extent that those disparities are driven by socioeconomic factors, the State could address them directly by basing eligibility on income. To the extent that provider accessibility is an issue, the State could break down barriers to telehealth access. These race-neutral approaches could reach the women most in need without drawing a line based on skin color.
Pacific Legal Foundation is fighting to ensure that California’s maternal health resources are available to every mother based on what she needs—not on government stereotyping.
What’s At Stake?
- California cannot deny mothers access to taxpayer-funded support programs because of their race. Race-based discrimination is unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause and violates the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
- The government may not use race as a proxy for need when race-neutral alternatives are available.
