Before her flight from Hong Kong to the US island of Saipan, a 25-year-old Japanese woman had to take a pregnancy test. The test is said to be mandatory because of U.S. immigration laws.
Only when the woman had taken the pregnancy test and it showed a negative result was she allowed to board the machine that flew to the US island of Saipan.
Tests to comply with immigration laws
Although Nishida had already stated in the entry documents that she was not pregnant, the test was mandatory, she was told. Nishida told the newspaper that she felt humiliated.
When asked about the incident, the airline announced that it would revise its regulations. This procedure was stopped immediately. The tests were carried out to ensure that US immigration laws were complied with.
According to the U.S. Immigration Service, a total of 1,074 babies were born on Saipan in 2018 – of which 582 were babies from foreign parents, while Saipan residents gave birth to 492 babies. About 95 percent of the foreign children were of Chinese origin.