Questions are being raised over claims of Indian women desperately getting C-section operations done to meet Trump’s Feb 20 deadline.
Days after several media reports in India claimed that Indians residing in US are hurriedly planning C-section operated preterm deliveries to meet Trump’s deadline of birthright citizenship cancellation order deadline, sources residing in US anonymously told The Perfect Voice that these reports are fake. Sources believe that the situation has been highly exaggerated by media. Some reports claimed that an increasing number of Indian couples are getting preterm delivery executed through C-section operation in the US, before the birthright citizenship deadline on February 20. Several experts have refuted the claims stating that the US has strict laws in the health sector and that the C-section operations are extremely expensive, and also, it's completely illegal to conduct such operations in the US. Speaking exclusively to The Perfect Voice, Mumbai based Visa consultant Karan Gupta pointed out, “The average cost for a C section in the US is around $35,000 (higher is some states) and most of the Indians working on H1B visas would not prefer to incur this additional cost. With this said, there would still be some people who would opt for C sections so get their child US citizenship. It is most certainly illegal to do so and doctors could lose their license and end up in prison if they perform such operations.”
A New York based practicing Obstetrician anonymously said, “It is very risky, both for the mother and a baby. Why will someone take such a big risk? Besides, why will we risk our medical licenses for their citizenships? The said claim seems to be fake and I am not aware of any such instance in which such operations are being done.”
Another expecting mother anonymously explained, “I would rather come back to India, than get a C-Section done for citizenship for our child. Pre-birth is risky both for the mother and the child. Additionally, we cannot afford the cost of a C-section operation.”
Rumours were also in the air that new parents flocked to the passport offices to get registration of passports done hurriedly before February 20. While isolated such incidents were reported in the US, Karan Gupta has refuted the claimed intensity of the situation. Gupta said, “This claim seems highly exaggerated because when a child is born in the US, they are given a birth certificate from the hospital. There is no need to apply for a passport for the child immediately. The birth certificate is definite proof of US citizenship.”
“The US. recognizes birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. A child born in the U.S. is automatically a U.S. citizen, regardless of their parents' citizenship or immigration status, provided they are not the children of foreign diplomats. The parents must obtain a birth certificate for the child from the hospital where the child was born. This document proves the place of birth and is the primary evidence of citizenship”, further explained Gupta.
To obtain a U.S. passport for the child the parents fill out DS-11 and submit the child’s birth certificate as proof of citizenship. The parents also provide their own identification documents.
Meanwhile experts believe that immigrants in the USA need not panic immediately because on Thursday, January 23, a federal judge blocked Donald Trump's administration from implementing the Republican president's executive order curtailing the right to automatic birthright citizenship in the United States, calling it "blatantly unconstitutional." The execution of the order will have to go through a series of legal hurdles. For now, immigrants don’t have to worry as the court will hear the matter. It could be several months or years before a final decision is reached. This has given hope to thousands of immigrants.
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