The US Supreme Court yesterday denied an appeal by civil rights groups seeking to halt implementation of Proposition 209, the controversial California law to end affirmative action programs.

In rejecting the constitutional challenge without any comment or dissent, the high court lets stand the measure, passed by state voters last year, barring state and local governments from granting preferential treatment based on race or sex in public employment, education and contracting.

The decision was a setback for civil rights groups and some local governments, which had argued that the law would force agencies to end affirmative action programs designed to remedy past discrimination. The ruling, however, came as no surprise, considering that the Supreme Court in September refused to block enforcement of the law.

The Supreme Court's action does not set a nationwide precedent, but allows California to implement the law. It also could encourage other states to adopt their own measures. More than 20 other states are working on similar laws.

The Supreme Court’s decision came on the heels of a November 1 report by the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) showing that underrepresented minorities in states affected by restrictions on affirmative action are turning away from careers in medicine.

The number of underrepresented minorities applying to medical school who reside in states affected by restrictions such as Proposition 209 -- California, Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi--declined 17 percent in 1997 over the previous year. In contrast, the number of underrepresented minorities applying to medical school from outside the affected states declined by 7 percent. Overall, due to the implementation of these new policies, 125 fewer minorities in the affected states pursued medical training in 1997, according to the AAMC.

The AAMC data also demonstrate that the number of minorities residing in these four states who were accepted to their medical schools dropped 27 percent this year, and the number of underrepresented minorities in these states who decided to enroll in their medical schools dropped 26 percent. In other states, however, the number of matriculating underrepresented minorities dropped approximately four percent.

"It is clear from our tracking data that the climate engendered by the Hopwood decision (in Texas) and Prop. 209 is discouraging minorities from applying to medical school," said AAMC president Jordan J. Cohen, MD. "We find it particularly alarming that a large percentage of underrepresented minorities are not just avoiding medical schools in California, Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana, but choosing not to pursue careers in medicine at all."

For the first time since 1988, the national applicant pool as a whole declined as well, with the number of people competing for the 16,000-plus medical school slots dropping by 8.4 percent to 43,020. The decrease follows four years of increasing applicant rates.

1st appeared 11/04/97

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