Displacing power for displaced people: The inaccessibility of maternity care for undocumented migrant women in the UK's hostile environment

Barclay, Ella Grace

Abstract

As part of the UK’s hostile environment, a range of restrictive social policies have been introduced for undocumented persons, including NHS charging and data-sharing practices. Current policy dictates that all those not “ordinarily resident” within the state must pay for care at an inflated rate. While these charging practices are framed as tackling the exploitation of NHS services, the binary nature of “ordinary residency” equates genuine medical tourists with undocumented migrants, despite clear divergences in nature of residency. Subsequently, undocumented mothers face extortionate charges for accessing maternity care, while also risking their irregular status being shared with the Home Office, which would lead to their deportation. Alongside these direct barriers, undocumented women also face a range of indirect consequences within the hostile environment which impact their ability to access support, such as a lack of cultural literacy and alienation in medical encounters.

Through an analysis of existing literature, this article argues that charging undocumented women for antenatal support undermines their power over their own bodies and futures. Subsequently, this conceptual essay presents three policy recommendations to address this displacement of power. Firstly, the conditions for ordinary residency should be reimaged. Secondly, unconditional firewalls between the NHS and the Home Office must be introduced. Finally, more routes to regularity must be made available within the UK. These policy changes can alleviate current issues by returning power to the individual, through the greater practical accessibility of maternity care, enhancing maternal wellbeing and outcomes in the process.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 10, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Mar 26, 2024
• Publication Date: Mar 26, 2024
• Deposit Date: Dec 4, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 10, 2024
• Journal: Open Review
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 9
• Pages: 28-38
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.47967/TOR9L736
• Keywords: Undocumented migrants, Maternity care, Healthcare charging, Hostile environment, Firewalls
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/11885615