Women On Waves’ recent announcement that they’re cancelling upcoming campaigns due to a new Dutch law has sparked discussion across various blogs. The law, which limits distribution of the abortion medications to only licensed clinics, not only prevents Women on Waves’ work but also stops general practitioners from being involved in abortion services.
Salon doesn’t quite get it – Judy Berman says:
While I imagine Gomperts has saved the lives of many women who would otherwise have resorted to unsafe abortion methods, I (and others) worry that these shipboard examinations may not leave women adequate time to explore their options and receive follow-up care in the event of complications from a medical abortion.
Gomperts has saved the lives of a handful of women directly – but has brought awareness to the plight of women seeking safe and affordable access to abortions and helped change laws in the process. Also — what other options is Judy talking about? “Doctors” that charge 1000s of dollars and offer no follow-up care? Dangerous methods like the infamous coathanger? Having a baby without the social and economic support to raise it?
Jezebel points out their work with Women on Web, and takes the time to understand the issue a little more deeply:
Gomperts, however, hasn’t simply given up. She’s involved with a new organization called Women on Web, which operates in Canada and under Canadian law and uses online interviews to prescribe the abortion pill to women all over the world who otherwise lack access to it. She tells The Independent:
Dr Gomperts is also involved in another organisation, the Canadian-registered Women on Web, which makes abortion pills available by mail – sometimes for free – to women in countries where it is illegal. A doctor asks 25 questions over the internet to check for counter-indications. The pills are then sent in a plain envelope.
“For many women this is huge progress,” Dr Gomperts said. “Women in countries where abortion is illegal live under tremendous stress. They go to unreliable websites where they are offered fake pills. There is also a [Women on Web] help desk where women can talk about their worries. There are no taboos online; there is no shame to talk.”
Online counterfeiting of pharmaceuticals — especially from companies pretending to be in Canada — is a big problem, as some (one could even say most) often don’t contain the advertised active ingredients. Both of Gomperts’ sites warn women about the problems with buying counterfeit pills.
Thanks, Jezebel, for sharing useful information – I hope that this info gets to women who need it the world over.
And finally, from the NRC Handelsblad interview, a quote from Rebecca about the broader impact of this law:
“We had planned to campaign this year with a yacht off the coasts of Nicaragua, Chile, Brazil and Argentina. Our legal system states that what is allowed under Dutch law is also allowed in international waters. So women boarding our ship did not have to fear prosecution. Now they risk prosecution in their own country if the Dutch health inspection rules that we are working outside the law. That’s a risk we couldn’t take, so we had to call off the campaign.”
The fear of prosecution is just one of the many barriers faced by women seeking abortions where it is illegal. Women on Waves offered protection from prosecution, as well as safe and affordable access. And the main point, which Salon missed, is this (also from NRC interview):
“Our only real strategy is letting women know that there is such a thing as the abortion pill. They have to know that there is medication available for pregnancy termination.”
By making Women on Waves’ work illegal, the Dutch government is preventing thousands of women around the world from learning that there is an alternative to the illegal, potentially life-threatening, and often costly procedures that hide in the shadows when abortion is illegal.