MISSION, TX - A couple of Texas-based medical centers are facing intense scrutiny after an image shared on social media went viral earlier in July which showcased a billboard advertising “birth packages” in Spanish; the billboard was reportedly spotted in a Latin American country and is being viewed as promoting birth tourism.
On July 3, Right Angle News Network shared a post to social media platform X featuring a billboard in Spanish which, when translated to English, reportedly advertises what many perceive to be birth tourism packages for Mission Regional Medical Center out of Texas.
While the image shared by Right Angle News Network isn’t new, as it has been used as a meme for at least several months prior to the posting on X, the image garnered interest and backlash on the matter might be fueled in part by the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on the 14th Amendment.
Upon visiting the website featured on the billboard, “havemybabyinTexas.com”, visitors are greeted with a Spanish-language website featuring testimonials and information on two healthcare centers in Texas, Mission Regional Medical Center and Knapp Medical Center, both of whom offer child delivery services.
Backlash against the two medical centers has mounted quickly online, with many social media commenters tagging the largely dormant X accounts of the two medical centers at issue. Further research into Mission Regional and Knapp Medical centers revealed both are owned and operated by Prime Healthcare Foundation, a California-based 501(c)(3) which reportedly owns 21 not-for-profit hospitals.
Prime Healthcare Foundation is reportedly led by Dr. Kavitha Bhatia, who alongside her numerous educational and philanthropic accolades also moonlights as a “member of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC),” according to her online bio. According to the DCCC’s mission statement, the group acts as “the official campaign arm of the Democrats in the House of Representatives and the only political committee in the country whose principal mission is to support Democratic House candidates every step of the way.”
A cursory review of the Democratic leadership, which encompasses the DCCC reads like a who’s who of progressive officials who’ve been vocally opposed to agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while parroting talking points that enshrine illegal immigrants.
Given Dr. Bhatia’s ties to the DCCC while her hospitals happen to be advertising in Latin America about locals having their children in South Texas, with the Mission Regional Medical Center being roughly 2-3 miles away from the physical Southern Border, it’s hard not to read between the lines and see a de facto advert for birth tourism. As the Center for Immigration Studies pointed out in a 2011 report, acts of birth tourism can manifest a domino effect that can eventually result in chain migration.
Republican Congressman Andy Ogles is leading the legislative fight to close this immigration loophole brought forth by birth tourism with the aptly dubbed “Anchors Away Act,” saying of the proposed legislation, “These foreigners have embedded themselves into our society and are being trained by foreign governments to corrupt our culture. I refuse to let these anchor babies colonize our country. Save our sovereignty. Anchors away!”
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