Nine.com.au readers rethink US travel plans over push for pregnancy tests at the border

Exclusive: A push to force female travellers to take a pregnancy test when entering the US would have many Australians rethinking plans to visit America, according to an exclusive nine.com.au reader poll.

Trump administration officials are proposing changes to prevent pregnant women entering the US due to concerns over so-called “birth tourism”.

Some conservative commentators have even gone as far as suggesting that women entering the country, even for a holiday, should take pregnancy tests.

The goal is to prevent foreign women from giving birth in the US because the nation’s birthright citizenship laws mean any child born on US soil is automatically a citizen.

The White House has been trying to overturn birthright citizenship for some time now but if that fails the administration may consider banning pregnant women from entering the US instead.

Have you got a story? Contact reporter Maddison Skipper: mskipper@nine.com.au

Read more

Push to force Australian women to take a pregnancy test to enter US

“Would there be the possibility of cracking down on pregnant aliens who are coming over here? Revoking visas? Pregnancy tests, even?” conservative commentator Megyn Kelly suggested.

Nearly 70 per cent of nine.com.au readers are opposed to the idea of Australian women being forced to take a pregnancy test to enter the US.

“The need for Australians or travellers of any other nationality to take a pregnancy test to enter USA is ridiculous,” one reader told nine.com.au.

Another called the idea “stupid, unnecessary and an invasion of private and personal information”.

Just under 25 per cent feel neutral about the push for pregnancy tests for tourists.

Many said they just don’t believe the US would proceed with the idea, despite support from some conservative personalities.

That said, 46 per cent of nine.com.au readers admitted they’d reconsider travelling to the US if Australian women were forced to take a pregnancy test at the border.

Nearly half said it wouldn’t affect their decision, but that may be because many don’t want to travel to the US anyway.

“There’s far too many mass shootings and the government won’t impose firearm restrictions to reduce it,” one said.

“It’s a dangerous country.”

The nine.com.au poll, which runs once a fortnight, canvases the views of the Nine audience on Idea Xchange, which is an online community of our readers and viewers. Learn more and sign up here.