A white mother has filed a discrimination lawsuit against the California Department of Public Health for denying her entry into a health equity program designed to support Black mothers.
Pasadena-native Erica Jimenez filed the lawsuit on April 2, 2026, alleging that the department violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by denying her entry into the Black Infant Health (BIH) program, according to Black Enterprise.
The BIH was established in 1989 to support pregnant and postpartum Black mothers, specifically designed to address racial and socioeconomic disparities, according to the California Department of Public Health.
The program provides counseling, prenatal care, and early childhood services to eligible participants aged 16 and older with no income requirements.
Jimenez, represented by the Pacific Legal Foundation, claims that the BIH program denied her access to prenatal and postpartum support services based on her race when she applied to the Pasadena branch in February.
“The government should not be in the business of discriminating,” said Jimenez, per Black Enterprise. She gave birth to her son back in March.
“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 lawsuit asks the courts to block the state of California from further excluding eligible applicants based on race and to grant class-action status to Jimenez so she can represent others who met the requirements but were denied for the same reasons as she was.
“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,” said Andrew Quinio, Jimenez’s attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation.
“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.”
The BIH has received nearly $24 million in funding from the state of California and over $6 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, per Black Enterprise.
Jimenez’s case is one of many this year targeting programs designed to support Black communities, which have seen an uptick ever since the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling officially banning affirmative action in higher education.
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