China Herald: Mothers' day at an abortion clinic

Tricia Wang

Fieldwork in China has brought sociologist Tricia Wang in many strange situations. Like the abortion clinic, where she worked, offering discounts on Mothers' Day, but only for the more expensive treatments, she tells on her weblog.

Tricia Wang:

We found out that only the least bloody abortions were discounted. The bloodier the abortion, the less expensive and more affordable, but those are also the most invasive.

The participant I was with chose a less expensive package so she didn’t advantage of the Mother’s Day discount. After they performed the procedure, they gave her the option of buying food, like milk and bread, all of which were pre-packaged. The nurses tried to get her to buy the more expensive food products, telling her that it would help her heal.

I’ll dig up that picture and my field notes to give everyone a glimpse of abortion practices and culture. I have a whole folder of abortion advertisements and magazines that I need to sift through. Since I spend so much time with students, abortion ads are thrown into your face every where you go.

More at Tricia Wang's weblog.

Tricia Wang is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need her at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch.