WHAT?

Australian Passing Through U.S. Asked if She’d Recently Had an Abortion Before Being Deported

The cat-sitter was heading to Canada before American immigration officials stepped in.

An Australian woman’s vacation to Canada was ruined during her stopover in California when she was grilled on her abortion history and deported by U.S. immigration. Madolline Gourley, who was passing through Los Angeles last month, complained of being treated like a criminal when she was detained, fingerprinted, and questioned over suspicions about her plan to house- and cat-sit while in Canada in exchange for free accommodation. Gourley said she was twice asked by U.S. immigration officials if she was pregnant during her interrogations, and when she answered that she was not, she was then asked: “Have you recently had an abortion?” Gourley was ultimately deported on a flight back to Brisbane, where she lives, after being denied entry to the U.S. because she was in breach of the terms of a visa waiver program for some foreign citizens that allows for visitors to make short visits for business and tourism but not “regular” employment. A Customs and Border Patrol spokesperson told The Guardian it took “allegations of unprofessional behavior seriously” and would investigate.