Anti-Abortion Clinic Activism, Civil Inattention and the Problem of Gendered Harassment

Abstract

In the UK, there is evidence of a recent increase in anti-abortion activism outside clinics. In response, abortion service providers have called for the introduction of 'buffer' zones to protect women from 'harassment' while accessing abortion services. Drawing on two datasets -extensive ethnographic fieldwork, and a content analysis of clinic client comment forms -we deploy Goffman's concept of 'civil inattention' to further our understanding of the material practice of anti-abortion clinic activism. We find that although anti-abortion activists understand their own actions to be supportive, practices of religious observance outside clinics inescapably draw attention to the site and to the act of accessing healthcare, inherently challenging normative expectations of privacy and confidentiality. Our analysis suggests that anti-abortion activism outside clinics consequently violates social rules governing encounters with strangers in specific places and reinforces gendered hierarchies. As such, they are often experienced as acts of gendered harassment.

Fertility treatment and organizational discourses of the non‐reproductive female body

“…Most recently, there have been legal changes which relax previous bans on abortions in Ireland and Northern Ireland (Connolly, 2019; McDonald et al., 2018). But, at the same time, the rise of populist politics makes the choice of motherhood an increasingly sensitive one worldwide: like Donald Trump's decision to block US funding of the United Nations Population Fund (Klasing, 2018; Terkel & Bassett, 2017); increasing picketing outside UK clinics that perform abortions (Lowe & Hayes, 2019); the growing number of conscientious objections to perform abortions from clinical staff across Europe (European Data Journalism Network, 2019; Lalli, 2016); and the (attempted) outlawing of abortion in several US states (BBC News, 2019, 2021).…”

Sophie's choice: Narratives of ‘saving’ in British public debates on abortion

“…2 Hence from the perspective of pro-choice campaigners, the activities of anti-abortion activists are problematic, not because they are against abortion, but because they actively seek to reduce women's choices by exerting unwanted pressure, and by distributing erroneous information. Far from saving women, anti-abortion activists use intimidation and fear (Lowe & Hayes, 2019) and this reduces the potential for independent decision-making. Moreover, much anti-abortion activism, particularly when outside abortion clinics, is seen as inappropriate because they are unfairly targeting individual women.…”

‘On the wet side of the womb’: The construction of ‘mothers’ in anti-abortion activism in England and Wales

“…Many of the organisations and activists argue that concern for women is at the heart of their campaigns (also see Lowe and Hayes, 2019). For example, Stuart, a middle-aged man we met at a 40 Days prayer vigil conveyed that he prayed for both women and the 'unborn', and that it was women's lives which were inevitably damaged by abortion.…”