South Florida doctor pleads Fifth on birth tourism questions

"On the advice of council, I will respectfully decline to answer any questions touching the subject matter of a pending federal investigation on the grounds that a truthful answer may tend to incriminate me," Lorentz said.

The company, also known as "Have My Baby in Miami," promotes services for pregnant women seeking to give birth in the United States. The U.S. House Oversight Committee announced in May it had opened an investigation into Lorentz and the company at large.

“While it is not inherently illegal for a foreign traveler to give birth in the United States, willfully misrepresenting one’s intentions to enter the country on a temporary visitor visa is a violation of current law and considered visa fraud," the letter reads. 

Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, chairman of the oversight committee's Task Force on Protecting Constitutional Rights and Exposing Institutional Abuses, asked Lorentz several questions regarding promotional material of his company. 

Gill asked about a step-by-step guide on the company's website detailing the arrival and return process of pregnant women in the United States. He also asked how many babies Lorentz birthed in the United States. 

Lorentz declined to answer all questions Gill asked. Gill said the south Florida company's website showed it delivered more than 2,000 babies of international parents. 

"[The] website continues, it's got a section for documentation, health insurance, advising foreign nationals on how to obtain international health insurance, housing in the United States even," Gill said. "It's quite thorough."

The website is no longer available to the public, Gill said. The Republican congressman asked whether Lorentz planned to answer all of his questions by invoking the Fifth Amendment, which he replied in the affirmative. 

Gill excused Lorentz from further questioning by the committee after he invoked the Fifth Amendment right not to self-incriminate several times. 

"Considering your invocation of the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination pursuant to the terms of the subpoena issued for your appearance at this hearing, I've no choice but to excuse you from the witness panel," Gill said. "You're hereby excused from the witness panel, and we will continue the hearing."

Lorentz is under a pending federal investigation for his connection to the south Florida company alongside the Congressional probe. Due to the pending federal investigation, lawmakers are unlikely to hold the doctor in contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions.