'Have you recently had an abortion?' Australian transiting through US questioned then deported
Source: The Guardian
Have you recently had an abortion? Australian transiting through US questioned then deported
Madolline Gourley says she was on her way to Canada for a holiday when US immigration officials intervened
Christopher Knaus
@knausc
Tue 12 Jul 2022 20.23 EDT
Last modified on Tue 12 Jul 2022 22.57 EDT
An Australian woman who planned to house-sit in Canada during a holiday has said she was detained, fingerprinted, interrogated about her abortion history and quickly deported during a stopover in the US.
Madolline Gourley, a Brisbane resident, says she was treated like a criminal during her transit through Los Angeles on 30 June, where she was detained at the border due to suspicions about her intention to house- and cat-sit in exchange for accommodation while holidaying in Canada.
Gourley was held in a detention room, interrogated twice, patted down, fingerprinted and photographed.
At one point a US border official asked Gourley, who was wearing a loose-fitting dress, whether she was pregnant. The same question was repeated as she was moved between rooms. When she again told the US officials she was not pregnant, Gourley was asked whether she had had an abortion.
-snip-
Asked about Gourleys treatment, the CBP spokesperson said it took allegations of unprofessional behaviour seriously.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jul/13/have-you-recently-had-an-abortion-australian-transiting-through-us-questioned-then-deported
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The house sitting deal broke the visa waiver rules, but the border agent's behavior was still outrageous.
whathehell
(29,742 posts)as a reply?
calimary
(84,185 posts)Last edited Thu Jul 14, 2022, 07:11 PM - Edit history (1)
Hey, they didnt degrade her sufficiently. Why not slip in a quick pelvic exam while yer at it, ASSHOLES!
And YES. NONE of your DAMN BUSINESS!!!!!
No fucking shit!
Glad she reported the incident.
2naSalit
(92,449 posts)Is that even legal here?
At that point I would be questioning the questioner.
wnylib
(24,253 posts)Why would she travel to Canada through the US just to have an abortion when she could have got one in Australia?
2naSalit
(92,449 posts)I can't understand why she even answered the question.
intheflow
(28,898 posts)What is wrong with you?
wnylib
(24,253 posts)Are you familiar with the language construction of "not only....but also" that I used in my post? Apparently not, so let me explain.
It means "yes, that's true, but this is also true...."
In other words, in my post, I agreed that they were invasive questions and then added that they were also stupid ones and gave my reason why they are stupid in addition to being invasive.
intheflow
(28,898 posts)You'd think after 18 years on this site I'd have learned my lesson already about posting before the coffee kicks in. But apparently not!
deported-cat-sitter
(5 posts)Apparently it is:
https://www.vice.com/en/article/7k8e7z/madolline-gourley-abortion-customs-and-border-protection-lax
I'm the lady this happened to. CBP keep changing their storythey said I was asked about 'loss of pregnancy', 'termination of pregnancy' and now we're back to 'pregnancy loss'. It was none of these things. I was asked: "Have you had a recent/recently had an abortion?"
Habitation
(5,683 posts)Thanks for sharing the article.
deported-cat-sitter
(5 posts)No problem! You'll see they said something totally different two weeks earlier:
A CBP spokesperson denied Gourley's allegations: 'We don't use the word abortion ever. We say termination of pregnancy'
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11220181/CBP-denies-claims-asked-detained-woman-cat-sitting-LAX-Airport-abortion.html
Scrivener7
(52,564 posts)is not known as an evangelical stronghold. And her situation has nothing to do with any USA Visa program because she was going to be in Canada.
SmittyWerben
(825 posts)This seems off.
wnylib
(24,253 posts)deported-cat-sitter
(5 posts)See my reply to 2naSalit.
CBP have changed their story three or four times, but now theyre sticking with loss of pregnancy:
- https://www.vice.com/en/article/7k8e7z/madolline-gourley-abortion-customs-and-border-protection-lax
- https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/madolline-was-asked-about-abortion-by-us-customs-then-deported-this-is-her-warning-to-female-travellers/y19ffseoq