New York:
A leading US doctor has warned against early C-sections amid concerns that some women could opt for the procedure to defeat US President Donald Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship.
New Jersey-based leading cardiologist Dr. Avinash Gupta told PTI that performing such surgeries would be “unethical” and could harm both the mother and the child.
One of the first major executive orders signed by Trump after taking the oath of office was on birthright citizenship, bypassing the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution which states that people born in the US will automatically be US citizens.
However, the executive order says that if a baby is born to a mother who is “unlawfully present” in the United States and if the father is not a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of the baby's birth, the child will don't Be a US citizen.
The order would also apply to those infants whose mothers are in the U.S. legally but on temporary visas such as student, work or tourism and the father is not a U.S. citizen or a green card holder.
Dr. Gupta said he “heard such things” in the news. “That's true,” he said, warning against this.
“If someone is waiting for an elective C-section, the date can be adjusted a few days, less than a week or so, but I don't think it can be preceded if someone is seven or eight months pregnant. They can't have pre-term delivery because it is not healthy for the mother nor the child, and the child may end up in the neonatal intensive care unit,” said Dr. Gupta.
“I don't think a midwife would agree to that because it would be considered malpractice. And they are liable until the child reaches the age of 18, so no one will take that risk. ” He said that if there is an injury to the child in any way, “it could result in a fine of millions of dollars.” So it's just not sustainable”.
He pointed out that such a medical procedure would be “unethical” and not in the best interests of the child or mother.
The order could affect several prospective Indian couples who are in the US on H1-B and other work visas if their US-born children were not considered US citizens.
The order would have taken effect on February 19, but a federal judge in Seattle temporarily blocked it.
Several other US states, including New York, have also sued to block Trump's order.
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that she and a coalition of 18 states, as well as the city of San Francisco, are challenging Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship in violation of the constitutional right given to all children who were born in the United States.
Attorney General James and the coalition have filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts to stop the president's “unlawful action,” which violates the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and “will harm American children.”
Dr. Gupta said his message would be that “it is not advisable to do that and they should refrain from doing so. They should listen to their obstetrician and see what she has to say about it. The primary care should be the health of the mother his and the child”.
He added that Trump's executive order may not even be in court.
“The children of illegal immigrants are a different matter, but people who are here legally on H1-B visas, I don't think it will apply to them,” he said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
