HYDERABAD: C-sections in the US have a new trigger: the discomfort of citizenship.
At a New Jersey maternity clinic, Dr. SD Rama has been fielding an unusually high number of requests for preterm deliveries since President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 announcement of the end of birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment.
Most of those dialing Rama or lining up at his clinic are Indian women in their eighth or ninth month of pregnancy, all asking for C-sections scheduled before February 20.
“A seven-month pregnant woman came with her husband to sign up for a premature delivery. She is due sometime in March,” Rama told TOI from New Jersey on Wednesday.
Desperation to defeat the birthright citizenship deadline — children born after Feb. 20 who are not permanent residents will not automatically be entitled to citizenship — appears to be widespread.
“I try to tell couples that even if it’s possible, preterm birth is a significant risk for mother and baby. Complications include underdeveloped lungs, feeding problems, low birth weight, neurological complications. And there’s a lot more involved,” said Dr. S.G. Mukalla, an obstetrician-gynecologist in Texas. “In the last two days, I have spoken to 15 to 20 couples about this.”
With a backlog of green cards now over a century old, birthright citizenship was a safety net for many pregnant couples, especially Indians working in the US.
“We were counting on our child being born here,” said Varun, who moved to the US with his wife Priya (name changed) eight years ago on an H-1B visa. “We have been waiting for our green card for six years. It was the only way to ensure stability for our family. We are afraid of the uncertainty.” Priya, 34, is due to give birth in early March.
A 28-year-old finance professional said his plans would fall through if his dependent wife gave birth to their first child after the deadline. “We sacrificed a lot to be here. Now, it feels like the door is closing on us,” said the H-1B holder, still months away from parenthood.
For illegal immigrants, the policy change has even stronger implications.
California-based Vijay (name changed), who has lived in the U.S. for eight years after entering the country illegally, said the news that the Trump administration would implement the deadline so soon He and his seven-months-pregnant wife were “crushed.” “We thought about getting asylum, but then my wife got pregnant and our lawyer suggested we get citizenship directly through our child. Now we’re all at sea.