Abstracts Womens Studies

"Wealth and Stealth": The 21st Century Challenge to Comprehensive Reproductive Health Education and Services in Canada

by Alexandra Dorothy Mandelis

This qualitative study explored the information available on abortion, contraception and parenting from websites accessible to internet users in Canada. The research questions focused on a comparison of pro-life and pro-choice websites on the discourse in Canada around reproductive rights. A textual analysis was conducted of five websites, with data analyzed using phenomenological research methodology. Themes emerged highlighting key differences between pro-choice and pro-life websites. Pro-choice websites offer accurate and up-to-date information presented in a static resource format, while pro-life websites offer value-laden and inaccurate information presented in an interactive, user-friendly fashion. The analysis highlights how the internet, as an emerging 21st century information resource, is also a site of production for reproductive rights discourse in Canada. These results have direct implications for social work practice and policy, particularly emphasizing the need for client referrals to accessible and accurate websites, and engagement with reproductive rights advocacy and public health education.