NEW YORK, May 24, 2001 (LSN.ca) – A panel of judges on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled Tuesday that pregnant illegal immigrants in the United States have no right to prenatal care under Medicaid. Lawyers argued that once children are born in the United States, even to someone who is here illegally – and are indisputably citizens, thus such children could argue that it was unconstitutional for prenatal care to be denied.
The New York Times reports that the appeals court panel, made up of Judges Jon O. Newman, Amalya L. Kearse and Ralph K. Winter, cited the landmark abortion ruling to reject that argument. “If, as Roe v. Wade instructs, a fetus lacks constitutional protection to assure it an opportunity to be born, we see no basis for according it constitutional protection to assure it enhanced prospects of good health after birth,” it said.
For more see the New York Times coverage at: https://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/23/nyregion/23RULI.html