Woman deported without baby after giving birth mid-flight to the US
Taiwanese mother separated from newborn sparks discussion about ‘birth tourism.’
A Taiwanese woman was deported without her newborn after giving birth mid-flight from Taipei to Los Angeles earlier this month. The mother, who was reportedly 36 weeks pregnant when she boarded, has been accused of hiding her pregnancy from the China Airlines staff in order to travel. According to Taiwanese aviation regulations, woman are prohibited from flying after 32 weeks of pregnancy unless they have a certified doctor’s note.
One of the flight attendants, who assisted in the delivery, claims the woman asked if the plane was in US airspace after her water broke.
The news has sparked an online discussion about “birth tourism”. According to varying data, more than 10,000 women from China gave birth in the US in 2012.
A YouTube video of the birth was posted by one of the passengers, and was shared nearly a million times. The following are excerpts from the debate users engaged in on the post:
Wei Liang Hung: I am a student from Taiwan. The truth is the lady just wants her child to get [an] American passport…
George Phillips: [Whatever] the woman’s purpose…America welcomes people to get their US citizenship legally. We welcome the children and families to move here.
L. Brady: This lady was exposed for purposely trying to give birth on the plane to obtain American citizenship. If her baby’s nationality is more important than her safety, she does not deserve to be a mother. This was extremely risky and could have easily resulted in harming her baby.
Gayla Lesley: No one knows for sure if that was her plan… As far as the mother, who has been separated from the child she gave birth to, no one knows what her plans were and it is petty to focus on what she may or may not have been doing. Who does it hurt if her child was born an American citizen? Nobody.
Andy: I hope she is not getting US citizenship…I saw many people from Taiwan or China come to US to have babies. What a shame…[the] US law is so stupid. I don’t get why these people on the airplane [are] so happy about.
According to reports, the baby is in the care of US authorities.