On March 3, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) launched a series of raids on "birth tourism" centers in Southern California. These companies, which allow Chinese women to give birth in the United States for a fee, were hit with charges including visa fraud, tax evasion, and willful failure to report foreign financial accounts, among others.
Birth tourism is nothing new—and not an exclusively Chinese phenomenon, either—but while it's often said that Chinese women travel to America to give birth chiefly to obtain citizenship and passports for their children, many also seek better and cheaper health care and to avoid fines for having extra children.
According to court documents, the average amount pregnant women pay to birth tourism centers ranges from $16,000 (£9,930) to $50,000 (£33,000), not including medical expenses. While paying tens of thousands of dollars to give birth in America may seem steep, for many Chinese families this decision will actually save them money in the long run.
"You know, if you're going to have a baby in the year of the horse, it's going to cost you a lot to get in with a good doctor," said Katherine, the wife of a mid-ranking Chinese government official, when we spoke about my apprehensions about having a child in China. (Her name, like all others in this article, has been changed to protect her privacy.) "All the best doctors are going to be booked way in advance. You'll need to find a way to get an 'in,' either through a connection, or getting a slot with another department and sneaking your way in. But don't worry. I know some people who can help you pass a hongbao to a good doctor."
The hongbao—red envelopes that are traditionally used to present monetary gifts to newlyweds or small children during the New Year—are one of the ways pregnant women can bribe their way to a competent, trustworthy obstetrician in China's public hospitals during popular birth years. During those times, families try to set their children up for a lifetime of success by giving birth to them on an auspicious date, or at least in an auspicious year. Full story...
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Birth tourism is nothing new—and not an exclusively Chinese phenomenon, either—but while it's often said that Chinese women travel to America to give birth chiefly to obtain citizenship and passports for their children, many also seek better and cheaper health care and to avoid fines for having extra children.
According to court documents, the average amount pregnant women pay to birth tourism centers ranges from $16,000 (£9,930) to $50,000 (£33,000), not including medical expenses. While paying tens of thousands of dollars to give birth in America may seem steep, for many Chinese families this decision will actually save them money in the long run.
"You know, if you're going to have a baby in the year of the horse, it's going to cost you a lot to get in with a good doctor," said Katherine, the wife of a mid-ranking Chinese government official, when we spoke about my apprehensions about having a child in China. (Her name, like all others in this article, has been changed to protect her privacy.) "All the best doctors are going to be booked way in advance. You'll need to find a way to get an 'in,' either through a connection, or getting a slot with another department and sneaking your way in. But don't worry. I know some people who can help you pass a hongbao to a good doctor."
The hongbao—red envelopes that are traditionally used to present monetary gifts to newlyweds or small children during the New Year—are one of the ways pregnant women can bribe their way to a competent, trustworthy obstetrician in China's public hospitals during popular birth years. During those times, families try to set their children up for a lifetime of success by giving birth to them on an auspicious date, or at least in an auspicious year. Full story...
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