Does a husband have equal protection of the laws under section 6650 of the Welfare and Institutions Code if he pays for the support of his incompetent wife in a state institution?

Dept. of Mental Hygiene v. Kirchner, 60 Cal.2d 716, 36 Cal.Rptr. 488, 388 P.2d 720 (1964); 62 Cal.2d 586, 43 Cal.Rptr. 329, 400 P.2d 321 (1965), does not hold, as urged by respondent, that imposition of liability upon a husband for the support of his incompetent wife in a state institution denies him equal protection of the laws. While the court did hold, as applied to the liability of the estate of a deceased adult daughter for payment of charges expended on behalf of her incompetent mother, that section 6650, Welfare and Institutions Code, was unconstitutional under the equal protection provision of the California Constitution, we find no expression in the opinion that section 6650 is unconstitutional per se. Defendant therein directly challenged the right of a state to statutorily impose liability upon one adult for the cost of supporting another adult whom the state has committed to one of its hospitals for

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