“We Have the Law, We Need the Access!”: Activism, Access & The
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“We Have the Law, We Need the Access!”: Activism, Access & The Social Organization of Abortion in New Brunswick by Sarah E. Rodimon A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Department of Sociology & Anthropology Institute of Political Economy Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario © 2018, Sarah Rodimon Abstract This dissertation explores the role that feminist pro-choice activists have played in resisting and reshaping the social organization of abortion care in New Brunswick. Using political activist ethnography (PAE), my research demonstrates the ways in which activists may help to reveal the social relations organizing abortion access in order to ultimately transform them. Building on PAE and movement-relevant theories, I argue that movement spaces are key sites of knowledge production, and thus offer a useful starting point for research that aims to challenge and transform social relations of ruling. Contemporary research on abortion in Canada has largely centered on the unequal regional distribution of abortion services, the disproportionate impact of access barriers among marginalized women and communities, and the role of provincial governments and health authorities in allocating abortion services in the context of Canadian federalism. My dissertation extends these conversations by offering a case study into the unique access barriers imposed by the provincial government in New Brunswick, as mediated by the province’s Medical Services Payment Act. Based on twenty-five in-depth semi-structured interviews, two years of participant observation with Reproductive Justice New Brunswick (RJNB), as well as archival research into the history of abortion regulation in the province, I trace how the closure of the Fredericton Morgentaler Clinic helped spark a grassroots movement to expand abortion access and repeal the province’s public funding restrictions for clinic abortions. Through exploring the ways that activists have helped to reveal the social organization of abortion in New Brunswick, I argue the importance of attending to activist accounts when developing policies around sexual and reproductive health. Indeed, there is much to learn from activists’ work to expand abortion access in New Brunswick. Activists, as I show, have helped demonstrate the lines of fault that exist between the institutional coordination of abortion services on the one hand, and patient experiences accessing the procedure on the other. It is due to these lines of fault that activists have increasingly oriented themselves toward a framework that makes visible the ways that access is entangled in social relations of oppression and benefit. In expanding access to abortion, it is important that activists and policymakers alike interrogate the historical, social, political and economic conditions that have led to the uneven and unequal distribution of abortion care in the Canadian context. ii Acknowledgements This dissertation would not have been possible without the support and care of my wonderful partner and husband, Scott Lewin. Thank you for always believing in me, for reminding me of my strengths, for pushing me to just keep writing, and for always being there when I need you the most. I am so grateful for all that you are and do. I love you. I would also like to express my endless gratitude, respect and admiration for my supervisor and mentor, Dr. Alexis Shotwell. Your encouragement, wisdom and support have been indispensable to this project. Thank you for always reminding me that other worlds are possible, and for teaching me about the transformative power of community and connectedness in developing projects for social change. I am deeply appreciative for my committee members, Dr. Jackie Kennelly and Dr. Melissa Haussman. Thank you for your guidance, insights, suggestions and support. Thank you to all those who participated in my research project. Thank you to the members of Reproductive Justice New Brunswick, the Fredericton Youth Feminists and the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada. Thank you to the staff and volunteers at the Fredericton Morgentaler Clinic and at Clinic 554. Thank you to everyone who lent their time, recounted their experiences, and trusted me to tell their stories with rigor and care. Endless gratitude and love for Melissa Conte, whose brilliance, kindness, love and support has nourished me throughout my doctoral degree. Melissa, you are my feminist co-educator, co-learner, co-teacher and co-conspirator. Thank you for always being there. My dear colleagues and friends, who have continued to teach me the in the most unexpected, radical and queerly delightful ways: Max Chewinski, Pavlo Bereas, Jessica Azevedo, Jen Amirault, Matthew Conte, Lyndsay Gray and Ryan Lux. Thank you for everything, always. To my sweet, sweet KSMF: Grace Spain and Cameron Landry. You two have been with me since the beginning. Thank you for your unwavering support, empathy, confidence and cheerleading. For Dr. Zelda Abramson: Thank you for convincing me to get my PhD. I would not be who I am today without your mentorship, guidance, generosity, and unconditional love. And to my family. To my mother and father, Mary and Jim Rodimon, for sacrificing so much to see their children flourish. Your support means worlds. To my brother, Maxwell Rodimon, for your endless curiosity and your unmeasured brilliance. For Linda and Stanley Rodimon, for always encouraging me to follow my dreams, and for always pushing me to stay curious. iii Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to those who have been forced to navigate the many barriers to accessing reproductive healthcare in New Brunswick and across Canada, and to those who are actively working to resist the control, regulation and stigmatization of women’s bodies, reproduction and sexuality. Thank you for all the work that you to make this world a better place. iv Table of Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................. ii Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................... iii Dedication ......................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents .............................................................................................................. v List of Acronyms ............................................................................................................ viii List of Research Participants .......................................................................................... ix Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................... 1 Research methods ........................................................................................................................ 6 Theoretical framework & methodological approach ................................................................... 7 Contributions to the literature ...................................................................................................... 8 Outline of dissertation ............................................................................................................... 10 Chapter 2: Theoretical Implications & Research Design ........................................... 14 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 14 Reproductive Justice .................................................................................................................. 15 Institutional Ethnography .......................................................................................................... 20 Political Activist Ethnography................................................................................................... 23 PAE: A Research Method for Activists and Social Movements ........................................... 24 Starting from the Standpoint of Activists .............................................................................. 29 Movement-Based Theory & Knowledge Production ................................................................ 34 Social Movements as Sites of Knowledge Production .......................................................... 35 Keeping Research Relevant: Academics, Activism and Social Change ............................... 40 Dynamic Engagement with Movements: Advantages and Challenges for Research ............ 43 Data Collection & Analysis ....................................................................................................... 47 Recruiting participants .......................................................................................................... 50 In-depth, semi-structured interviews ..................................................................................... 53 Coding ................................................................................................................................... 54 Mapping ................................................................................................................................ 56 Participant observation .......................................................................................................... 57 Textual analyses ...................................................................................................................