Federal Discrimination Lawsuit Against California’s Black Mothers Only Program

California has quietly turned motherhood into a racial spoils system.

But that could soon change.

The Golden State’s longstanding but little-noticed support program for black mothers only is the subject of a new federal discrimination lawsuit filed last week by a new mom turned away from the program because she is not black.

Represented by the Pacific Legal Foundation Foundation, Pasadena resident Erica Jimenez, is suing  the California Department of Public Health  for violating the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibition against discrimination by programs that receive federal assistance.

The Black Infant Health program, which the state legislature established in 1989 but now receives federal funds, is a “health equity program that [offers] support to pregnant and post-partum Black mothers and birthing people,” according to the California Department of Public Health website. “BIH was created in recognition that anti-Black racism, social and economic stressors, and neighborhood conditions contribute to poor birth outcomes for Black mothers, birthing people, and infants.”

Participants, who must be at least 16 years old,  receive individual and group counseling from nurses and mental health professionals.  There are no income requirements for the program.

For the current fiscal year, the program received $23,950,000 in state funds and $6,011,202 from the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

The website for the program openly boasts about its discriminatory nature. “The BIH Program focuses exclusively on empowering Black/African American women by connecting them with the vital care and support needed to promote healthy behaviors during pregnancy and continuing after her baby is born.”

Pacific Legal Foundation lawyer Andrew Quinio told the California Globe that, “It is astonishing that [the] government still needs to be reminded today that it cannot racially discriminate. Having a government that doesn’t treat its citizens differently based on race and ethnicity is not only required by the constitution, but necessary to protect the dignity and individuality of every person, including new and expectant moms. Prioritizing healthy moms and babies cannot be accompanied with racial discrimination by the state.”

The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, says that Erica Jimenez applied to the local Pasadena BIH program when she was pregnant in February,

“She qualified in every respect except race. After learning that Mrs. Jimenez is not black, a BIH program coordinator informed Mrs. Jimenez that the program was not for her.”

“The consequences were immediate. Mrs. Jimenez was denied publicly funded services for healthy pregnancies and early childhood development—services available to others solely because they fit the government’s preferred race. Mrs. Jimenez’s race alone closed the door.”

Jimenez, who is white,  gave birth to a boy in mid-March.

In a telephone interview today she said, “The government should not be in the business of discriminating. I hope my son can grow up in a state that is more respectful of the Constitution. California has been getting away with a lot of stuff.”

The complaint says, “Countless other pregnant and new mothers across California suffer the same exclusion [Jimenez did]. They qualify in every way except the government’s racial criterion. The program sets no income limits—only race decides who gets help. Plaintiff brings this action on behalf of herself and a proposed class of similarly situated individuals who are eligible for BIH services in all respects except race. The Constitution forbids this racial discrimination: The Equal Protection Clause bars the government from conditioning public benefits on race. Our civil rights laws forbid this: Title VI prohibits recipients of federal funding from excluding individuals on the basis of race. And basic principles of human dignity forbid it: motherhood should not begin with unequal treatment based on race.”

The lawsuit is also asking the Court to issue an injunction barring California from excluding anyone from the program based on race.

Additionally, the litigation is seeking class action status so that Jimenez can represent “all persons who meet the nonracial eligibility criteria for the challenged program, but whom Defendants exclude due to race. Defendants injure all class members to the same extent that the named Plaintiff is injured.”

Andrew Quinio explained that, “Class action is appropriate here and I am optimistic this case will proceed as a class action suit. The Court will have to grant our forthcoming motion to certify this lawsuit as a class action lawsuit. We welcome other plaintiffs, either as named parties or as members of the class, if the court certifies this as a class action case.”

“If  it is certified as a class action suit, then we will be litigating claims on behalf of a group of similarly situated individuals who are all excluded from the program. So the case would have broader impact and significance to multiple mothers, not just Erica. The relief we seek, which is the elimination of the program’s racial barriers, would also apply to all members of the class.”

California Department of Public Health spokesman Grant Boyken said, “CDPH does not comment on pending litigation.”

The Department of Health and Human Services media office did not reply to an emailed inquiry asking why the Department is funding such a blatantly discriminatory program.