疑似中國孕婦赴加拿大產子不付錢，被醫院起訴索賠600多萬元……

Vancouver hospital sues foreign-born mother for $1m

溫哥華一家醫院以近100萬美元起訴國外產子的母親

來源：英國BBC 翻譯：世界播

A Canadian hospital is suing a non-resident mother for C$1.2m ($930,000, ￡690,000) because she allegedly ducked her bill after giving birth.

加拿大一家醫院起訴一名非居民母親，要求賠償120萬加元( 93萬美元，摺合69萬英鎊)，據稱起因是她在分娩後不肯支付賬單。

Vancouver Health Authority claims the woman, Yan Xia, gave birth in Richmond Hospital in 2012 and never paid.

溫哥華衛生局稱，這名嚴夏女士於2012年在里士滿醫院分娩，從未支付過任何費用。

The lawsuit was filed in April, but neither Ms Yan nor her representatives have yet responded in court.

訴訟是在4月份提出的，但嚴女士和她的代理人都未在法庭上作出回應。

Birth tourism is a growing industry in Vancouver for mothers who want their children to have Canadian citizenship.

對於希望子女擁有加拿大國籍的母親來說，旅遊業在溫哥華日益興旺。

Court documents filed by Vancouver Health Authority state that Ms Yan "expressly or impliedly" agreed to pay the non-resident rate healthcare services, plus 2% interest per month on overdue bills.

溫哥華衛生局提交的法庭文件指出，嚴女士「明示或默認」同意支付非居民醫療服務費用，外加逾期賬單每月2 %的利息。

The cost of her services, which included both maternal and neonatal care, totalled C$313,000 when the hospital billed her in October 2012, according to court documents.

法庭文件顯示，2012年10月醫院向她開賬單時，她的服務費用總計313，000加元，其中包括產婦和新生兒護理費用。

The lawsuit is asking for the court to award the health authority the amount owed, plus interest and other costs.

訴訟要求法院將所欠的金額，加上利息和其他費用判給衛生當局。

The health authority declined to comment on the story or on the woman"s nationality.

衛生當局拒絕就此事或這名女子的國籍發表評論。

An article from 2016 published in the Vancouver Sun said many women from China choose to give birth in Richmond Hospital so that their children might have Canadian citizenship.

《溫哥華太陽報》刊登的一篇2016年的文章稱，許多中國女性選擇在里士滿醫院分娩，因為只有這樣她們的孩子才有可能擁有加拿大國籍。

Between 2010-16, non-resident births grew from 18 to 339 at Richmond Hospital, according to the article.

文章中提到在2010-16年間，里士滿醫院的非居民出生人數從18人增加到339人。

A number of "birth houses" have popped up in the Richmond area where expectant mothers can live.

在里士滿地區出現了許多「生育屋」，孕婦可以在那裡生活。

Travel agencies advertise services for parents wanting to give birth in Canada.

旅行社還針對那些在加拿大生孩子的父母做了宣傳廣告。

"Some of them think it will help them stay here," said Vancouver immigration lawyer Steven Meurrens.

溫哥華移民律師史蒂文?默倫斯說:「有些父母以為在加拿大生產可以幫助他們自己駐留在加拿大。」

"Most just do it so that their kids have [citizenship]."

「大多數人這樣做只是為了讓他們的孩子擁有[公民權]。」

In March, a number of Richmond residents signed a petition urging the government to address birth tourism.

今年3月，里士滿一些居民簽署了請願書，呼籲政府解決生育旅遊問題。

According to the Canada Border Service Agency, pregnancy is not a reason for inadmissibility to Canada.

加拿大邊防局表示，懷孕並不是加拿大不予入境的理由。

Chinese residents must obtain a visa to visit Canada, but it is largely up to the border service agent what questions they are asked during their visa application.

中國居民必須獲得訪問加拿大的簽證，但在簽證申請過程中，主要是由邊境服務代理提問。

"Admissibility of all travellers is decided on a case-by-case basis and based on the information made available to the border services officer at the time of entry," Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) spokesperson Kathleen Marriner told the BBC.

加拿大邊境服務局發言人凱思琳?萬里納告訴英國廣播公司說:「所有旅客的入境許可，都將根據每位旅客的個人情況和入境時向邊防官員提供的資料而定。」

In a guidance document published online, Citizenship and Immigration Canada recommends that CBSA ask pregnant women looking for a temporary visa if they have sufficient funds to cover their expenses and if they plan on leaving the country when their visa expires.

在網上公布的一份指導文件中，加拿大國籍和移民局建議，如果孕婦有足夠的資金來支付他們的費用，以及她們打算在簽證到期後離開加拿大，加拿大移民局應要求她們申請臨時簽證。

Costs usually range between C$8,000 and $12,000, Mr Meurrens said.

默倫斯表示，生產成本通常在8000至1.2萬加元之間。

Sources told the Richmond News that Ms Yan experienced serious complications, which is why her fees were so high.

消息人士告訴《里士滿新聞》，嚴女士有嚴重的併發症，這也是她的收費如此之高的原因。

微信關注「世界播」，天下大事盡在掌握！中英雙語呈現，還可以加強英語學習哦！這事你怎麼看？歡迎留言探討

喜歡這篇文章嗎？立刻分享出去讓更多人知道吧！