The full piece is carried in On The Issues Magazine in its edition on "Activism." One page, for example, says, "It may have some of the trappings, but First Resort is not a doctor's office...It is at the quiet front of the war on women's health as part of a huge and growing network of faith-based anti-abortion 'crisis pregnancy centers' that hand out more misleading health info than Planned Parenthood does condoms."
Cagle manages to consolidate and illustrate wide-ranging and up-to-the-minute information about abortion, politics, and the anti-abortion outposts. She says that she first encountered a Crisis Pregnancy Center when seeking an abortion in New York four years ago. To create her graphic journalism piece, she visited nine crisis pregnancy centers in the Bay Area, presenting herself as a patient. She settled on illustrating three run by "First Resort" to explain the nefariousness of the crisis pregnancy movement, especially in a generally pro-choice community like San Francisco-Oakland.
Others have written about crisis pregnancy centers, including an excellent article just appearing in the New York Times by Katie Stack . And the group CPC Watch, does important regular posting on crisis pregnancy lies, plans counter actions, and sells cool items online. But it's Cagle who has managed to capture the entirety of the experience and the problem through concentrated creativity in words and graphics. Her final product is specifically designed for online publication, and should be tagged by every pro-choice site.
Her conclusion is worth understanding, too. In a blog post, she notes that the people at the centers were kind and seemed to be understanding, even as they handed out reams of false information.
"I think some people expected this story to reveal some sort of gory, appalling details, the blood beneath the floorboards. For me, this version of reality is much more scary -- false information delivered with a smile, affirmations of choice that hide aspirations to dissuade, prevent and sabotage."
Great great work by Cagle. If you only have time to read ONE thing on crisis pregnancy centers, this should be it! Send it to roommates, students, those who are likely to be ensnared. And if you want to learn graphic artistry, Cagle is the model for you.
Cagle, also the founder of Graphic Journos, can be found via her website, This Is What Concerns Me.
Posted by Cindy Cooper
Pictured above, screen shot, 'What Every Woman Should Know' by Susie Cagle
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