Doctors Plan Fast to Oppose Prop. 187

About 50 Orange County doctors say they will begin fasting today to demonstrate their opposition to Proposition 187, which would deny most public social services, including health care and education, to illegal immigrants.

“We see (Proposition 187) as extremely unethical, immoral, unconstitutional and mean-spirited,” said Dr. Fernando Montelongo, who practices at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange and is president of the California Hispanic Medical Group/ALTO Care Medical Group. “We are totally against it because if it passes, it puts us in the front line of having to decide to treat patients based on their race, color or place of national origin.

“We are extremely concerned about the consequences of communicable diseases and inappropriate care, the denial of treatment and the suffering that will come to people who delay seeking medical care.”

The doctors said they will hold a news conference at noon today outside St. Joseph to urge other health care providers to join them in fasting until Tuesday’s election, in which voters will decide the fate of Proposition 187.

Many of the fasting doctors provide free services to poor people throughout the county in addition to their regular practices. Montelongo said many of the doctors will refuse to report patients to the Immigration and Naturalization Service if the measure passes.

“It goes against our Hippocratic oath as physicians to treat patients regardless of race, creed, color or place of birth,” he said.

“We will fast to send out a message in a very positive manner that we’re about raising the level of medical care for all people and that we cannot become INS agents. We are conscientious, and medical care should be accessible to everybody in Orange County.”