Greg Abbott orders state probe of Texas hospital for birth tourism
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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday ordered an investigation into a hospital in Texas after Fox News confirmed that billboards in Mexico advertised “Birth Packages in South Texas” in Spanish promoting birthing services to pregnant foreign nationals near the U.S.-Mexico border.
Mission Regional Medical Center confirmed to Fox News that it was responsible for the ad campaign that promoted deliveries starting at $3,950 for natural birth and $5,525 for C-sections and directed viewers to the website havemybabyinTEXAS.com, which has since been taken offline.
The billboards also displayed a phone number starting with “001”, the country code used to make calls from Mexico to the United States.
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Governor Greg Abbott speaks during the signing of a bill at the State Capitol on April 23, 2025 in Austin, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
“Marketing materials for maternity services are no longer in use due to an inadvertent misunderstanding,” a hospital spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News. “We do not support or facilitate any illegal activity and strive to comply with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations.”
The campaign includes two billboards located near the U.S.-Mexico border crossing, about 5 miles from the hospital, the spokesman said. The hospital said both the billboards and its website were removed on Monday after the images began spreading on social media. The spokesperson also said the campaign begins in 2021, but did not specify when the billboards were installed.
On Tuesday, Abbott directed Texas Health and Human Services Commission Executive Commissioner Stephanie Muth to investigate Mission Regional Medical Center for possible violations of state law and contractual obligations.
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A Spanish-language billboard promotes birthing packages at Mission Regional Medical Center, advertising pricing for natural births and C-sections in South Texas. (Right Angle News)
Images of the billboard circulating on social media before the hospital showed that the ads were removed on Monday.
“‘Birth tourism’ is an illegal practice that exploits the extraordinary hospitality the United States and Texas offer to millions of foreign travelers each year,” Abbott wrote in a July 7 letter obtained by Fox News. “Unfortunately, thousands of foreign travelers come to the United States under false pretenses to give birth to their children and provide them with citizenship.”
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An English-language billboard promotes birthing packages at Mission Regional Medical Center, advertising prices for natural births and C-sections in South Texas. (Right Angle News)
Abbott directed HHSC to “immediately and thoroughly investigate” the hospital and said any violations should be referred to the Texas Attorney General’s Office for civil enforcement and to the appropriate district or county attorney for potential criminal prosecution.
“American citizenship is not for sale, and Texas will not allow our healthcare system to be used as a magnet for birth tourism,” Abbott wrote.
The governor also said he plans to work with the Texas Legislature in the next session “to strengthen state laws and eliminate birth tourism in Texas.”
“Unfortunately, birth tourism operations are not a new phenomenon,” Kyle Brosnan, general counsel of the Oversight Project, told Fox News Digital. “The Supreme Court’s profoundly wrong decision in the birthright citizenship case will open the door to the birth tourism industry. Our country is much more than a magical lump of land. The only response to such practices is criminal investigations and mass deportation of illegal aliens.”
Mission Regional Medical Center also said it plans to cooperate with state officials.
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“We intend to work collaboratively and transparently with local and state officials,” the hospital said in a statement obtained by Fox News. “Our focus remains on providing safe, high-quality care to every patient who seeks our services.”
The investigation comes as President Donald Trump’s executive order to limit automatic birthright citizenship for some children born in the United States remains the subject of ongoing legal challenges.
