Cartographies of reproduction: Mapping the dynamics of cross-border abortion care between El Paso and Ciudad Juárez
Abortion
Awarded 2022
Emerging Scholars in Family Planning
Celina Doria, MSW
University of Chicago
$7,488

Across the globe, intersecting social, economic, political, legal, and geographic factors work to restrict the right to abortion, forcing women and pregnant people to travel across state and country lines to access needed healthcare services. For decades, such forced abortion travel has occurred along the U.S.-Mexico border, with recent legislative changes targeting abortion access in Texas amplifying this trend. This project seeks to examine the territorial, political, structural, and lived dimensions of cross-border abortion care in El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juárez , Chihuahua. Through multi-scalar qualitative methods—including participant observation, in-depth interviews, and body and community mapping—Celina Doria will explore how pregnant people and abortion advocates experience and navigate shifting landscapes of abortion care along the U.S.-Mexico border. By mapping the contours of cross-border abortion care, this study aims to contribute to knowledge on forced abortion travel in the U.S.-Mexico border region, while theorizing new understandings of citizenship that attend to the experiences of those living in and navigating “abortion exile” in the borderlands. In doing so, this study will inform policy and practice implications that may work toward improving reproductive health equity and promote social justice.