The Antelope Valley Times

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Resident warns against ‘birth tourism’ in Lancaster

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(Screenshot from PBS's 25-minute documentary titled "The New Americans" View the documentary below)
(Screenshot from PBS’s 25-minute documentary titled “The New Americans.” View the video below)

By Marion Murphy, Lancaster resident and registered nurse (not employed at AV Hospital)

As someone in the healthcare field, and a long-time resident of the Antelope Valley, I wanted to share a video with you [see below]. This gives some perspective on chairman of the hospital board Dr. Abdallah Farrukh’s proposal to turn Antelope Valley Hospital into a “tourist birthing center.”

AV Hospital is a district hospital. Although it has not been directly supported by taxes in years, it is still a community hospital in the best sense of the phrase.

It is OUR hospital. It is not Dr. Farrukh’s hospital, or the board’s hospital. It belongs to ALL of us in the AV, and we should have our voices heard.

The September 8th edition of the AV Press showed that over 95% of readers oppose this idea. Their reasons are varied, but the general consensus is that bringing foreign nationals on tourist visas to Lancaster, to live until they deliver their babies at AV Hospital, and to provide instant citizenship to these babies, is not beneficial for anyone except the babies and their parents.

These children, when they grow up, will be eligible to move to the USA and live here, receiving all the benefits and privileges of other citizens. If the mothers or babies require intensive care, the State of California is ready and willing to pay, and the mother and baby would qualify for this care – free of charge.

Our elected officials owe it to us, their constituents, to provide us with transparency in all their actions related to the job they were elected to. Has elected board member Dr. Farrukh been morally transparent in his dealings with these Chinese medical tourism agencies? Would he have told us anything until it was too late, if not forced by members of the nursing staff? As a neurosurgeon, is he able to even say on television about “if somebody knocks on my door to want to deliver a baby, I cannot say no”? The answer to all these questions is a resounding, emphatic, NO.

[On 9/11/13], the City of Lancaster, The County of Los Angeles, and the AV Hospital Board all participated in touring Chinese birth tourist agency officials through the hospital buildings, including the Women and Infants Pavilion.

Despite the opposition of the hospital nursing staff, medical staff, and other employees, despite the rejection by the community at large, LA County Sheriff deputies to escorted these officials to the hospital, where Dr. Farrukh guided them throughout the hospital premises.

Obviously, the opinions of our community mean nothing to Parris, Farrukh, and the rest of the hospital board, who can’t see any farther than the dollars being dangled in front of them.

Please watch this video from a PBS station on the phenomenon of reproductive tourism in the USA. See how you feel about AV Hospital participating. If you feel, as do many nurses AND physicians at AVH, please contact your elected representatives on the hospital board, city councils, county board of supervisors, state of California, and the US Congress.

Tell them in no uncertain terms that US citizenship should not be for sale, and that AV Hospital belongs to us, the residents and taxpayers of the Antelope Valley.

Speak up now, while there is still time to stop this.

–

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of The AV Times.

Email letters@www.theavtimes.com to submit a story to Your Issues | Your News.

Note: Video playback is best in Google Chrome. If you’re having problems viewing the video in another browser, you can view the video directly from the PBS website at http://video.pbs.org/video/2365013663/.

Editor’s Note: We have contacted Antelope Valley Hospital officials for clarification on the birth tourism issue, but have not received a response so far.

 

Filed Under: Opinion

31 comments for "Resident warns against ‘birth tourism’ in Lancaster"

  1. To anyone who might still be reading this VERY IMPORTANT NEWS ARTICLE

    Please read articles on site. China daily.com.cn about baby trafficking, sex trafficking, prostitution, tourism, nuclear power plants, solar projects. Coincidence that these are same issues that have been in the news here lately? I think not. Please pass along to EVERYONE you know

    • Do you really think Paris cares about the consequences of his selling American birthrights for a few bucks? Do you think he cares that China found a sucker in him to produce their toxic batteries that will poison our children? Do you think he cares that he is making the AV look stupid with all his frivolous lawsuits against Palmdale and Santa Clarita? Do you think he cares if companies leave our area and no new ones come because of the hostile environment he has created? He only cares about money and power not the people.

  2. So now how do you think Obama and all the illegal aliens have gained their ” citizenship” and ” civil rights ” that are killing this country happened?

    • Hmmm Well I would think Obama got his citizenship when he was born to an American mother in the American state of Hawaii. How do you think he got it?
      I sometimes wonder if someone is putting stupid pills in the AV water? How else does someone turn a local Republican government setting up the selling of American citizenship to rich Chinese as Obama’s fault?

      • If you really want to know, do some research on ” Berry” and his Kenyan / Asian family background. If his mother was in fact an American citizen when he was born, it doesn’t really matter if he was born here or in another country, he would still be considered a citizen of this country as well as the country he was born in or his father was born in. But if actually born here, does that automatically give his whole family ” citizenship” as well? His mother was a student traveling to different countries when she became pregnant. Does that make her a tourist? Do you think maybe she was paid to have this child? Look up info on her. She was made to look like a college prostitute. Many college students/ women are offered big money to marry or to have babies that will allow someone citizenship here. Take a look at the want ads under ( jobs ) . Believe me this sort of thing is not new. It has been going on for a long time AND IS GOING ON RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW. Why do you think all the big interest in ” women’s health”. I personally know several people who have done this for money. I had gathered quite a bit of info on Obama and his supposed family but my computer was shut down. Why do you think Obamas biggest interest / issues are in immigration and health care? I could write a whole bunch of stuff about what has been going on ( although you probably wouldn’t believe it ) but it would take too long right now. But I will post when I can…. Oh and just for fun ( I’m being sarcastic ) take a look at the Jackson family fiasco… And yes they are putting stupid pills in the water ( another big $ deal involving medical and sex trafficking )

        • Info huh? Drudge Report, Fox News, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Donald Trump, Ted Nugent…? I guess your info is 100% concrete if it comes from one of those sources. And something like the US presidency can be easily manipulated to having an illegal run the country right? Unless you believe in conspiracy theory, but then you would have to affirm the Bush’s with the New World Order, Illuminati, and believe all the violence going on now is false flag along with 9/11. So which is it?

          • Don’t listen to or care for any of those sources you just listed. But hey look at my last post

  3. Judging from all the greenery in the above photos this happened someplace far, far away. Also the term “Chinese birth tourist agency officials”, does not get results on a Google search. This might be occurring somewhere around the US, but I suspect it being a problem in the AV is a manufactured crisis by some “excitable person”. Otherwise, name 2 instances of this actually happening at AV Hospital. I won’t hold my breath.

  4. Easy to fix, amend the Constitution to say if you’re born in US to non US citizens, in order to retain your US citizenship you need to live in the US for 10-15 years consecutively after you are born or no more citizenship for you!

    • Or do what Spain does: if parents who are not Spaniards have a baby in Spain, that baby will not be considered a Spanish citizen but rather a citizen of where the parents are originally from.

  5. YEAH! IN US THE POLITICIANS LOBBIES FOR ABORTIONS’ RIGHT SO THAT THEY CAN RESERVE THE CHINESE BABIES WHO EVENTUALLY AUTOMATIC TO BE THE US CITIZENS.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~ ILL-ADVISED ~~~~~~~~~

  6. This isn’t anything new. There are a lot of Americans that go to other countries to get surgery. Whether it be Mexico or European countries, we do the same. This is not based solely on “getting the right to citizenship”. The healthcare system has a lot of uninsured patients that don’t pay for anything at all. AV hospital is already at its max, adding more laboring patients may not be the smartest thing. However, the reasoning behind this is at least they well be getting some payback for their expenses vs not getting anything at all from the American self pay.

    • Oh pleaseeeee nn. You think AV Hospital has ANYTHING to offer RICH people from other country’s besides citizenship? If the rich were coming to America for excellent health care, they would go to the Mayo clinic, Ceders, UCLA or some other highly distinguished care facility. Not AV hospital. Citizenship is the only thing being offered. The care there is substandard at best.

      Of the top 32 hospitals in Calif, AV doesn’t even make the list. So there is, obviously, NO reason to come to the AV except automatic citizenship. Notice no one is showing up for organ transplants or brain surgery. Wonder why that is?

      http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/area/los-angeles-ca?page=4

      • Well said, I am very much against this idea. Av in my eyes is one of the worst. Too many people die just in the waiting room because it can be so impacted at times. When my father would have episodes with his heart we always took him to urgent care and they would stick him in an ambulance so he would have a bed waiting for him at AVH. If average Americans have to go through strategies like that just to get proper care, why are we giving better care to people who are not even citizens and persons who do not contribute to the country in any way, but instead spend tax payers money from a state already in financial crisis? Very wrong in my eyes. We need to take care of our people first who can pay or will pay… before we can take care of others..free of charge!

    • So if I go to Mexico or Brazil and get a butt lift, does that make me a citizen of that country? Sounds like the punch line of a bad joke.
      Even if a baby is born here, if the parents are not citizens, the child should not be either.
      How can that hospital not be making bank when they charge more than $7 for 1, (one) baby aspirin? The charges are so inflated because they know insurance carriers have to pay it, or else…or else the hospital will invite illegals here to have their babies.

  7. Their are too many births at that hospital already. Women who need to have their babies for medical reasons sometimes can not even get a bed in labor and delivery. So give the bed up for a non citizen instead? The nurses are already over worked. No this idea is lame. Work on giving quality and safe care to our moms in the AV. Not selling off labor beds to foreigners waving dollars around.

  8. why would you want to come to ghetto as av hospital to have a baby just sayin im surprised t rex doesnt have LEAPS involved

  9. It is time for big changer in the political arena that we call Lancaster. King Rex certainly has overstepped his boundaries. Let us the real residents of Lancaster make sure that this travesty never happens again. When dis you say the elections are. We did have a great candidate in a previous election but good ol’ Rex put his lying henchmen to work and so politically rubbed the other candidates nose in the dirt that he just threw his hands up and declared that he would no longer be part of a corrupt town that bows down to King Rex.

  10. If its between the birth tourists, section 8 ers and the gangster thugs walking our streets, i will take the tourists.

    • Welcome to the AV home to all kinds. My family has been here since the 1940’s and up until the 80’s it was good

  11. I betting that this ‘birthing’ tourism was promised as part of the BYD deal.

    It’s no coincidence that both involve China and not 2 different countries.

    I’m betting that the hospital will go ahead with this because it is part of the deal with BYD and it would affect the deal if the hospital decided against it.

    We’ll see.

    • As usual, William speaks “sooth.” I would find it hilariously funny if Berna Mayer decided to organize an “anti-abortion” rally in front of the hospital in favor of the all of these poor babies and mothers who are waiting in fear of abortion in China. Make sure that it gets videotaped and sent to BYD. That’ll go over like a lead balloon! I’m sure it’ll make the YouTube rounds in the great People’s Republic…..

  12. Ithink this is the worst idea EVER! its all about greed. When I went into labor, I was stuck in triage for 7 hrs becuase there was no rooms. Could you imagine if the set this in motion. How long would an expecting mother have to wait! Its rediculous! How can we stop this?

    • It is a gray area. Since the mothers are acting like tourists INS feels that they are adhering to the visa restrictions.

      There are problems when they first apply for that visa though. In China, they will lie about their gestation, because if it appears that they will be full term while in the USA, their application can be denied.

      • So in this case, the US can denied their baby care or change fee to punished them lie through the VISA process! Why the INS cannot do that? Is same way like the Justice punished criminal after they committed the crime? Or those laws just apply for US citizens and waive for tourists? If it’s, then US tourists’ law is junk!

  14. Does anyone know if abortions are performed at Antelope Valley Hospital? If so, it would be somewhat ironic for the A.V. Hospital Board to make this an abortion issue: saving all of these Chinese babies from abortion. Just sayin’.