Published Thursday August 26, 2010

Judge won't act on prenatal care
By Paul Hammel

LINCOLN — An advocacy group for the poor has lost a round in its fight to restore state-paid prenatal services for illegal immigrants and some other low-income women.

Late Wednesday, Lancaster County District Judge Karen Flowers rejected a request to immediately restore the services, saying she had questions before possibly taking that step.

A lawsuit challenging the end of prenatal services for at least 1,500 women will continue. An official of the group that filed the suit expressed disappointment with the judge's rejection of its request for a temporary injunction.

“We're deeply concerned about the women and unborn children that aren't going to get immediate access to the care they need and we believe is required by the state,â€