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blog: Health care availability

Marty LichVail CO, Colorado

Little United States citizen baby Edgar Castorena died as a direct result of no medical care because his illegal immigrant parents were afraid they would be deported under a new Oklahoma Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act of 2007, H.B. 1804, if they took him to a major hospital.Or so says the story’s headlines across the nation.There is just one problem with the Immigration Poster Child’s Death being the fault of this Oklahoma measure which bars illegal immigrants from accessing state assistance.Edgar died in July of 2007.And Oklahoma’s Immigration measure became law in November, 2007.So enter Laurie Paul into this AP story. She is the director of the Community Health Connection Clinic. A Hispanic clinic that is funded from city, state and federal grant monies per the following news story available at Channel 6 News. She is the spokesperson for the health clinic where baby Edgar was finally taken.Says Paul, the sad part of it was the child didn’t have to die if House Bill 1804 didn’t ever come around.H.B. 1804 allows for all emergency medical care regardless of a person’s immigration status. And baby Edgar was an American citizen, not an illegal immigrant.I suspect this has nothing to do with H.B. 1804 and everything to do with the fact that baby Edgar’s parents did not realize how ill their baby was and so made the tragic decision to not take him to any doctor, clinic or hospital for several days. This fateful decision could be investigated as potential child abuse for not seeking emergency medical care. But Edgar’s parents are now believed to have gone underground, either returning to Mexico, or going to stay with family in Arkansas following their baby’s death back in July. So in all likelihood we will never know their entire story.As H.B. 1804 is being held accountable for this infant’s unnecessary death, I have to wonder if baby Edgar was born at home because his illegal immigrant parents were also afraid they would be deported under the new Oklahoma law if they went to a hospital for his birth?I will venture a guess that the answer is no. ———————————————————————— Hispanic Clinic In Tulsa Expanding – KOTVThe Community Health Connection is building a new 15,000 square foot clinic on the corner of 3rd & Lewis. It’s strategically located near one of Tulsa’s Hispanic neighborhoods. Doctors expect to see thousands of Hispanic patients in the first year. I always say, the people that go to the emergency room with a strep throat, or a sore throat or a cough, they don’t need to be there, they need to be in a clinic like ours, said Laurie Paul with Community Health Connection.The money for the new clinic comes from city, state and federal grants.http://kotv.com/news/local/story/?id=114030 ————————————————————————Okla. Immigration Law Blamed for Death(State Rep. Randy Terrill) said there’s no correlation between his bill and Edgar’s death, noting that the child died in July, months before the law took effect, and that the law provides an exception for emergency medical care. To the extent that these illegal alien parents deprived their own child needed and necessary medical care because of their ignorance of the law, then they should be in prison, frankly, Terrill said. 2008 The Associated Presswww.newsvine.com/_news/2008/01/25/1255004-okla-immigration-law-blamed-for-death ————————————————————————Oklahoma measure blamed for exodus of Hispanics, baby’s deathTULSA, Oklahoma: Edgar Castorena had diarrhea for 10 days and counting, and the illegal immigrant parents of the 2-month-old did not know what to do about it. They were afraid they would be deported under a new Oklahoma law if they took him to a major hospital. A ruptured intestine that might have been treatable instead killed the U.S.-born infant. The law, billed by its backers as the toughest U.S. legislation against illegal immigration, took effect Nov. 1. Edgar’s parents are believed to have gone underground following the boy’s death, returning either to Mexico or going to stay with family in Arkansas.. 2008 The Associated Presswww.msnbc.msn.com/id/22845808 ————————————————————————HOUSE BILL 1804 By: Terrill. AS INTRODUCED. An Act relating to illegal immigration; creating the Oklahoma Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act of 2007C. Verification of lawful presence under the provisions of this section shall not be required:For any purpose for which lawful presence in the United States is not restricted by law, ordinance, or regulation; For assistance for health care items and services that are necessary for the treatment of an emergency medical condition, as defined in 42 U.S.C. Section 1396b(v)(3), of the alien involved and are not related to an organ transplant procedure; For short-term, noncash, in-kind emergency disaster relief; For public health assistance for immunizations with respect to diseases and for testing and treatment of symptoms of communicable diseases


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