Europe – The abortion travel agents: ‘Some women know what they need, others just say: help’

With reproductive rights being increasingly restricted in Europe, people are relying on a network of volunteers to help them

Introduction Margaret Atwood
Interviews Candice Pires
Sat 19 Feb 2022

When The Handmaid’s Tale first came out in 1985, the initial response was broadly that people thought such threats to women’s bodies and reproductive rights “couldn’t happen here”. By the time it aired as a TV series in 2017, just after Donald Trump was inaugurated in the US, people were no longer so sure. With every headline about gains in reproductive rights – Ireland repealing the eighth amendment in 2018, which had effectively banned abortions – there are others that underscore how fragile these rights are, wherever you live.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/19/the-abortion-travel-agents-some-women-know-what-they-need-others-just-say-help-europe-margaret-atwood

Abortion Without Borders has helped almost 32,000 people from Poland

Abortion Without Borders (Aborcja Bez Granic)
has helped almost 32,000 people from Poland to access abortions in its second
year of existence.

Published on December 11, 2021

Abortion Without Borders is a grassroots feminist network that was launched on
11 December 2019 to help anyone in Poland access a safe abortion in Poland or
abroad. In the face of fresh attempts by Poland to criminalise women for having
abortions, Abortion Without Borders continues to help people who need support,
including 1,186 who were forced to travel to a clinic or hospital in another
country.

At least two women died this year after being denied an abortion for a
pregnancy that was threatening their lives. Poland criminalised almost all
abortions in a constitutional tribunal ruling in October 2020, and the last few
weeks have seen attempts by the Polish government to criminalise what little
abortion access remains in the country.

Continued: https://womenhelp.org/pl/page/1383/abortion-without-borders-helps-almost-32-000-polish-people-in-second

Poland abortion laws: Woman’s death spurs calls for change

Izabel’s case has intensified demands to loosen Poland’s laws, which are among the most restrictive in Europe.

By Urooba Jamal, Al Jazeera
1 Dec 2021

If Anka Adamczyk were to ever have a child, she would leave Poland to give birth. “It’s … super scary,” the 35-year-old told Al Jazeera by phone from Warsaw. “The consequences are so horrible that I would really not take the risk.”

She is among the women who are now struggling to even consider childbirth because of the country’s strict abortion laws, which have seen doctors refuse to terminate pregnancies even when complications pose a fatal risk.

Continued: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/12/1/poland-abortion-laws-womans-death-spurs-calls-for-change

Abortion Without Borders helps more than 34,000 people in Poland access abortions

Published on October 21, 2021

A year ago – on 22 October 2020 – a Polish Constitutional Court decided
that the provision of abortion in case of foetal malformation was
unconstitutional. While the decision didn’t come into force until 27 January
2021, the change happened immediately. The next day, despite the still-valid
provision of abortion under Poland’s abortion act, the first four people
refused abortion in Polish hospitals called Abortion Without Borders for help.

Over the past 12 months Abortion Without Borders groups have helped 34,000
people from Poland to access abortion. 1080 people were able to terminate their
pregnancy in a foreign clinic in the second trimester. Financial support given
was more than 700,000 zloty/ £129,000/ €153,000.

Continued: https://www.asn.org.uk/abortion-without-borders-helps-more-than-34000-people-in-poland-access-abortions/

Gibraltar reform is a small – but important – step for abortion rights in Europe

June 29, 2021
Sydney Calkin

Gibraltar has voted to change the territory’s strict abortion ban, which held that abortion was punishable by “imprisonment for life” for the pregnant person and anyone who helped them get an abortion.

Just over half of Gibraltar’s 23,343 eligible voters took part in the referendum on June 24, with 62% voting in favour of reforms to make abortion legally available. The success of the referendum will mean important changes for people in Gibraltar who urgently need access to safe, legal and local abortion.

Continued: https://theconversation.com/gibraltar-reform-is-a-small-but-important-step-for-abortion-rights-in-europe-163447

Dangerous so-called abortion reversal treatment offered to women ‘by anti-abortion groups in UK’

‘There is also a very real risk of haemorrhage from using these medications. The fact that anti-abortion groups are encouraging women down this path demonstrates that they do not care about women,’ says expert

Maya Oppenheim, Women’s Correspondent
March 25, 2021

Dangerous so-called abortion reversal treatment is being offered to women by anti-abortion groups in the UK, healthcare professionals have said.

The warning comes after an undercover investigation conducted by Open Democracy revealed advocates of abortion pill reversal treatment claimed at least 60 women in Britain requested it in the first half of last year.

Continued: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/abortion-reversal-treatment-women-anti-abortion-groups-b1822583.html

Malta – Over 200 reach out to Abortion Support Network since 2019

Abortion Support Network founder Mara Clarke: people requested information on abortion clinics, reputable online providers of medical abortion pills as well as funding to travel abroad

12 February 2021

by Laura Calleja

Over 200 people have contacted the Abortion Support Network (ASN) since the NGO
expanded its services to Malta, ASN founder Mara Clarke revealed.

Since expanding its services to Malta back in February 2019, people had
contacted the NGO for information about abortion clinics, reputable online
providers of medical abortion pills, funding to help with the costs of abortion
and travel, and logistical support.

Continued: https://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/107657/over_200_reach_out_to_abortion_support_network_since_2019#.YCan8WhKhPY

Ireland – ’Travelling for an abortion is always hard, but now it is just unbelievably difficult’

Women with unwanted pregnancies are finding Covid-19 a major obstacle to keeping their lives on track, writes Ali Bracken

Ali Bracken
February 07 2021

An unwanted pregnancy was not something Aoife had anticipated having to deal with during lockdown. But somehow, at the end of November, she found herself sitting alone in her Dublin apartment, looking incredulously at the pregnancy test results. She initially didn't believe it. So she took another test, and then a third. Finally she was forced to accept the reality.

"I was pregnant in the middle of a pandemic. And I did not want to be," she recalls. "For me, this was the worst news. It also came at the most emotionally challenging time of my life.

Continued: https://www.independent.ie/world-news/coronavirus/travelling-for-an-abortion-is-always-hard-but-now-it-is-just-unbelievably-difficult-40060420.html

07.02.2021

Commentary

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abortion access during pandemic

Abortion Support Network

Mara Clarke

travelling for abortion

Covid: Locked-down women turn to pills amid Malta abortion ban

Catholic Malta has the strictest ban on abortion in the EU, but during the pandemic more Maltese women have been ordering abortion pills from abroad, unable to travel because of the lockdown.

By Sophia Smith-Galer, BBC World Service
January 8, 2021

Veronica - not her real name - was among them. "It was a big burden for me. I already have two kids with learning difficulties. I came off the pill, as the doctor suggested I switch to an IUD for health reasons. I was waiting for the appointment, but Covid came and cancelled all the hospital appointments."

Not long after that Veronica got pregnant. "I had to decide what is best for me and the children," she says. "The best for my health, the best financially… plus the father immediately told me to abort."

Continued: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-55579339

Abortion Without Borders helps more than 5,000 people in Poland in first year

Celebrates with billboards advertising their service in Warsaw

Thursday, December 10, 2020, Warsaw
Aborcja Bez Granic / Abortion Without Borders

Abortion Without Borders helps more than 5,000 people in Poland in first year; celebrates with billboards advertising their service in Warsaw.

The Abortion Without Borders initiative has helped more than 5,000 people in Poland since its launch one year ago. The group has provided pregnancy options counselling, information about safe abortion with pills in Poland, and funding and practical support for abortion outside Poland. To celebrate, the group has engaged billboards in Warsaw advertising their organisation and will hold a press conference in Warsaw at 11 am local time. In their first year, Abortion Without Borders has:

Continued: https://womenhelp.org/en/page/1265/abortion-without-borders-helps-more-than-5-000-people-in-poland-in