Date of Award
5-12-2024
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Geography & the Environment
Advisor(s)
Jonnell Robinson
Keywords
abortion;anti-abortion movement;crisis pregnancy centers;digital geographies;feminist cartography;reproductive justice
Subject Categories
Geography | Social and Behavioral Sciences
Abstract
Anti-abortion groups have opened thousands of ‘crisis pregnancy centers’ (CPCs) across the country that deceive pregnant people in order to discourage or outright prevent them from accessing abortion. Amidst tightening state restrictions, those seeking abortion are increasingly looking online for legal guidance, resources, and care itself. Activists and scholars have celebrated the possibility that the Internet might promise enduring access to abortion care through online pill provision. However, the two papers presented here provide evidence that CPCs are also increasingly adopting a new arsenal of digital strategies to identify and reach those they label “the abortion-determined,” interrupting new geographies of care. Through covert event ethnography conducted at an anti-abortion conference and analysis of the representation of CPC business listings on Google Maps, this work provides insight into the deceptive, digital tactics the anti-abortion movement is deploying in the post-Dobbs era. At a moment when the Internet is heralded as a space where access to abortion might be sustained, these papers suggest an urgent need to expose the emerging digital geographies and strategies of anti-abortion groups.
Access
Open Access
Recommended Citation
Yoxall, Patricia Simone, "Digital Deception: Geographies of Crisis Pregnancy Centers Post-Roe" (2024). Theses - ALL. 841.
https://surface.syr.edu/thesis/841
