Haitian Mother Loses Newborn After Home Birth as Dominican Hospital Deportations Deter Care
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · May 26
Haitian Mother Loses Newborn After Home Birth as Dominican Hospital Deportations Deter Care
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · May 26
Katty Joseph, 20, said her baby died within 24 hours after she delivered him on a grease-stained floor in the Dominican Republic rather than seek hospital care.
Dominican immigration officials stationed at public hospitals were detaining undocumented migrants for deportation, pushing Haitian mothers to avoid medical treatment during childbirth.
Joseph said she cut the umbilical cord herself with a razor after giving birth in late October with only a friend's help in the back room of a car repair shop.
The hospital dragnet has been underway for more than a year and has largely targeted Haitians fleeing the deepening humanitarian crisis in neighboring Haiti.
How has Dominican policy weaponized healthcare access against Haitian migrants?
Can a nation's historical fear justify a modern human rights crisis?