'Have you recently had an abortion?' Australian transiting through US questioned then deported [View all]

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.

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Asked about Gourley’s treatment, the CBP spokesperson said it took “allegations of unprofessional behaviour seriously”.

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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.