Another woman has essentially been deported for the crime of being pregnant.
Welcome to New Zealand we're quite happy to have you study or visit but just don't get yourself pregnant.
And in answer to the usual cries, yes she has money to cover her health care and no her child won't qualify for citizenship.
Part one and Part two of a series.
8 comments:
Well the problem was, she didnt declare she was pregnant when she arrived, and that invalidated the grounds for her student visa. Pregnancy being a specific disquqlification from student visa.
So she had no right to be here in the first place. Right or wrong, thems the rules
So is it ok that pregnancy disqualifies you? A bit like how the American Health Care reform bill fails to include cover for basic gynaceoligical (sorry, sp!) health.
So is it ok that pregnancy disqualifies you?
For student visas, well, yeah. It's not a sacred right to come and have your baby in another country because you want to study there, especially if we're stretched for maternity care already. If we had the resources and we were still saying no, I'd consider it problematic, but if it's because we don't have hospital space or staff - the woman's hardly a refugee. In that case, I am perfectly happy to say that New Zealanders should get first dibs on space.
And yes, of course it would be brilliant if we had the resources and space for her to stay, but if we don't, then we don't.
Lucy, doesn't it make more sense to distribute services based on need rather than citizenship?
Lucy, doesn't it make more sense to distribute services based on need rather than citizenship?
Though I would hope that need would be taken into account as much as possible, in a situation of limited resources, citizenship/visa status has to play a factor in decisions like this, especially when the person was pregnant before they came and just assumed it wouldn't be a problem.
Litmus test: if a guy came into the country with a pre-existing condition which unexpectedly flared up on him, would we shove him on a plane and tell him to get it fixed in his own country?
I thought better of our country creating an "us vs them" culture.
I would disagree. I'd rather services go to a non-citizen with a great need than a citizen with a relatively modest need any day of the week. We have a welfare state to provide for human needs, not citizen needs.
I would disagree. I'd rather services go to a non-citizen with a great need than a citizen with a relatively modest need any day of the week.
But she's not dying, she's not in need of urgent medical care, she has a condition she knew about when she entered the country which she knew would result in her needing maternity care during her planned stay. This isn't an emergency or something unexpected. This was entirely predictable, and she didn't bother to check whether it would be a problem.
And it's also not the kind of thing where she need special medical care (from what I have read) or can't fly; she is in the same condition as any average pregnant New Zealand resident. I agree with you about great need. I disagree that a normal pregnancy is a great need.
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