County Supervisors Discuss Maternity Hotels

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Don Knabe and the Board of Supervisors asked County staff to create a proposal to toughen zoning restrictions and investigate the health concerns of boarding houses where many immigrant women receive postpartum care. 

These maternity hotels, or birthing centers, are typically single-family homes that are altered to have up to 17 bedrooms where women-- mainly from Asia--pay to stay with hopes of giving birth to a child who will then become a U.S. citizen.

"The primary issue is the safety of the mom and the baby," said Knabe. "But there are are bigger issues here that need to be dealt with in the right way. No one is tryomg tp be anti-immigrant or anything like that."

The motion is a response to the nearly 65 reported complaints about these maternity hotels in residential neighborhoods.

Betty Hung, a policy director at the Asian Pacific American Legal Center raised strong objections to the Supervisors' call for action. 

"This seems to be an overly broad disproportionately heavy-handed response to some concerns that have been raised," Hung said. 

There's no specific ordinance on the table yet, but Tuesday's directions from the Supervisors bring that one step closer. Opponents like Hung say any action against the hotels would send a frightening message to immigrants.

The Board will next address the issue in 60 days.