'Maternity Hotel' For Pregnant Chinese Women Shut Down

'Maternity Hotel' For Pregnant Chinese Women Shut Down

Chinese tourists desperate to give birth in the United States have been paying a staggering $35,000 to stay in a 'maternity hotel' in order to deliver their babies state-side.

The 'hotel' - a stucco-fronted townhouse in suburban St Gabriel, Los Angeles - has now been shut down by officials.

Under US law, babies born on American soil automatically have US citizenship - and it is not illegal for pregnant women to visit just to give birth.

The hotel's owner, Dwight Chang, was fined $800 for running an illegal business after police found found 10 newborn children in the property, which consisted of 17 converted bedrooms - including one in the garage.

Chinese language baby-care leaflets and medical supplies were also found in the house. A neighbour told reporters of a constant turnover of pregnant Chinese women, saying: ' When one would finish her pregnancy, another would come in. I saw boxes of diapers.'

Dwight Chang denied he had done anything wrong and said most of the new mums had either left the country or moved into a motel.

What do you think about this story?

Is Chang morally wrong to make money out of these women?

Or is it just a hospitality business like any other, if it is not illegal to travel to the US to give birth?

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Chinese mums - better parents than their western counterparts?

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