Discussions are going around if Canada should provide medical care for birth tourists – pregnant women who come to Canada solely to give birth to their babies and obtain Canadian citizenship for them. Preterm and multiple births experts argue that Canadian hospitals and doctors should have “absolutely zero tolerance” for birth tourism as this phenomenon is rising again after COVID travel restrictions were lifted. Hospitals end up with huge unpaid bills when planned low-risk births go wrong, and babies must spend weeks in intensive care. In a study conducted in Calgary, almost $700,000 was owed to Alberta Health Services over 16 months. In addition, birth tourists are at risk of being exploited by unscrupulous brokers and agencies that charge high fees upfront for birth tourism packages, which include the arrangement of tourist visas, flights, “maternity” or “baby hotels,” as well as pre-and post-partum care.
