Fear’s Potentially Lethal Effect : Facts about Prop. 187 and its current status must be disseminated throughout the public

While the legal wrangling continues over the implementation of Proposition 187, the human cost of the initiative is being felt across Southern California. There has been much misunderstanding about where the initiative stands, and the death of an Anaheim youngster illustrates the need for a public education campaign about its status.

Proposition 187 would cut off government services and all but emergency medical care for illegal immigrants. But misinformation abounds although the initiative is on hold pending legal challenges and although Gov. Pete Wilson, a 187 backer, has committed the state to providing essential government-funded health services.

Already, medical clinics are reporting a drop in appointments for routine examinations for immigrant clients, many of whom are fearful of being reported to the authorities. Now there is the tragic story of Julio Cano.

The 12-year-old died of acute leukemia Nov. 19 after his parents delayed in getting him medical care. Illegal immigrants, they said they were worried that their status would be questioned.

The parents said they had been denied non-emergency care before and thought Proposition 187 meant their immigration status would be questioned. The father said he did not think his son’s condition would be considered an emergency at a hospital because the boy did not appear at first to be gravely ill.

Nobody can say for certain whether quicker medical intervention would have saved Julio. However, the case dramatically illustrates the larger point about the public confusion. It is sufficient to know that the parents apparently were too afraid to get their son the help he needed.

Moreover, as Proposition 187 opponents were quick to point out, a temporary restraining order already had been issued preventing the implementation of the measure. But in many neighborhoods, news of the court challenges blocking implementation has not spread sufficiently. In the case of Julio, it was only after the family scratched together $60 to get the boy to a doctor that he got medical attention at all. Instances such as this one validate the concerns of Proposition 187 opponents who warned that a decline in preventive care and a rise in emergency-room cases and preventable deaths could follow passage. It is imperative that the word get out that care is still available.

To their credit, some groups opposed to 187 were planning this week to tape public service announcements in Spanish and English to urge illegal immigrants to continue seeking health care. Such public education efforts are important at a time when fear and misinformation are widespread.