Attorney-at-law Samuel Legay believes birth tourism can be beneficial to the country, but has urged government to ensure international agencies involved exercise proper diligence in screening participants to safeguard the island’s social systems.

He noted that birth tourism was not new to the island, pointing out that at least one clinic has been promoting the practice “for years”. However,  he questioned whether the current public concern was really due to birth tourism or to the promotion of such in African countries.

“For years, it has been a certain class of colour of people that have been coming to do it, and they have been getting the Barbadian passport,” he said. Birth tourism is beneficial to the country, he said, even as he urged the government to warn international agencies to exercise due diligence in screening participants.