Kathmandu, September 11
Multiple lawmakers raised the case of Babita Paswan, a woman from Rajbiraj Municipality-14, Parsahi, who was forced to give birth on a footpath near Gajendra Narayan Singh Hospital in Saptari after the hospital allegedly turned her away for lacking sufficient money, during Friday’s sitting of the House of Representatives.
According to reports, Babita had only Rs 2,500 with her. The hospital refused to admit her on that amount, after which she gave birth on the footpath just outside the facility.
Dr Toshima Karki, an MP from the ruling Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), raised the issue during the House’s emergency discussion segment.
She said the constitution guarantees the right to health and safe motherhood, but a wide gap remains between that guarantee and the healthcare citizens actually receive. She asked whether the woman had received timely triage and emergency clinical assessment on arrival, why the hospital had no record of when she left the premises, and why the hospital’s social service unit and the Aama Surakshya (Safe Motherhood) programme were not activated once it became clear she could not pay for a blood test.
She proposed implementing a “no denial in labour” protocol requiring immediate clinical assessment of any woman in labour regardless of ability to pay, expanding the Aama Surakshya programme to cover the full course of maternal care rather than just free delivery, keeping hospital social service units alert around the clock, and instituting detailed maternal care audits at every hospital.
RSP MP Lima Adhikari said the incident reminded her of her late father, former Finance Minister Bharat Mohan Adhikari, who had introduced the maternity allowance and helped advance the concept of safe motherhood in Nepal. She called it a matter of deep shame for the state that a pregnant woman was turned away from a hospital door for lack of a few thousand rupees, and demanded an immediate investigation into the hospital staff and administration involved, with strict action against anyone found responsible.
CPN-UML MP Bhumika Limbu Subba said the incident was not simply tragic but an example of the government’s irresponsibility, remarking that a “sad history of the state’s insensitivity and irresponsibility” had been born along with the newborn on the hospital footpath.
Nepali Congress MP Geeta Gurung demanded an explanation from the government, asking whether ensuring safe motherhood was the state’s responsibility or not, and pointedly asked whether, under the RSP-led administration, those without money are now expected to give birth on the streets.
“Similarly, Khusbu Oli, an MP from the Rastriya Prajatantra Party, sought accountability for the incident from the Prime Minister and the Health Minister.”
She asks, “Is it a crime to be poor in this country?”
Several lawmakers collectively questioned what had become of the constitutionally guaranteed fundamental right to free healthcare, given that a woman was compelled to deliver her baby on the road for lack of money.
