Abbott orders probe into Texas hospital over border birth-tourism ads

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott directed the state’s Health and Human Services Commission to probe Mission Regional Medical Center after it advertised Spanish-language “Birth Packages” near the U.S.–Mexico border, including pricing for natural births and C-sections; the hospital has since removed the billboards and a related website. Abbott said citizenship is not for sale and vowed to pursue potential state-law violations, with referrals to the attorney general or local prosecutors as needed, as lawmakers consider edging birth-tourism restrictions in the wake of ongoing birthright citizenship debates.