USA – First-Ever Abortion Clinic Directory Celebrates 25 Years of Service

Abortion Clinics Online—the first abortion clinic directory—celebrates 25 years of service, despite legal restrictions, court battles and anti-abortion terrorism.

10/23/2020
by GISELLE HENGST

This year, Abortion Clinics Online announces its 25th anniversary of continuous service. Through its online directory and hotline, Abortion Clinics Online directs women to reputable abortion clinics and continues to fight back against fake clinics.

The site first went live in September 1995, as GynPages.com—at a time when the internet was a new world. (Just 14 percent of Americans had an internet connection!) The National Abortion Federation and Planned Parenthood did not yet have websites. At its height, Abortion Clinics Online had about half of the country’s abortion clinics listed.

Continued: https://msmagazine.com/2020/10/23/abortion-clinics-online-25-years-ann-rose/


USA – The future of DIY abortions is the internet, not a back-alley doctor

The future of DIY abortions is the internet, not a back-alley doctor
No need for a clinic at all

by Lux Alptraum
Sep 22, 2018

For many people, the phrase “illegal abortion” calls to mind images of back alley clinics, medical providers with questionable credentials, and, of course, the dreaded coat hanger — an object so evocative it’s often been used as a protest symbol. But those images are outdated, belonging to a pre-Roe era. These days, the real action in abortion is now online, as a group of reproductive rights activists use the internet to spread the word about how to use abortion pills. They hope to give pregnant people living in places where abortion is nearly inaccessible, or outright illegal, access to safe and effective ways to take charge of their own fertility.

Thanks to the introduction of abortion pills mifepristone and misoprostol — which, in combination, effectively induce abortion 95 percent to 98 percent of the time — it’s become possible to terminate an unwanted pregnancy without an invasive medical procedure. More to the point, it’s possible for women to take these pills to induce an abortion on their own, without the assistance of a doctor. Those pills can be bought online — so for many people, it’s possible to avoid the clinic entirely.

Continued: https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/22/17807550/diy-abortion-sass-pills-plan-c-repro-action-safe2choose-mifeprostone-misoprostol-online


USA – Illegal Abortion Will Mean Abortion By Mail

Illegal Abortion Will Mean Abortion By Mail
What to expect when you’re expecting your abortifacient pill delivery

Olga Khazan
July 18, 2018

With the prospect of a more conservative Supreme Court on the horizon, some progressive women have begun to fear what will happen if Roe v. Wade, the case that legalized abortion, is overturned. Some of these prophecies have centered on a popular meme in the pro-choice community: The coat hanger.

During a recent rally, New York gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon held up a wire coat hanger as a warning that we should not return to the previous generation’s means of obtaining illicit abortions. And Representative Lois Frankel, a Democrat from Florida, banged a coat hanger on the table at a briefing while discussing the latest Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh.

Continued: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2018/07/after-abortion-is-illegal/565430/


POLAND – Polish abortion rights advocates reported to the police, but no charges were brought (yet)

POLAND – Polish abortion rights advocates reported to the police, but no charges were brought (yet)

by International Campaign for Women's Right to Safe Abortion
June 8, 2018

Dear Abortion Friends,

Some time ago we, the Abortion Dream Team (an informal group working on destigmatisation of abortion) and Kobiety w Sieci (community of women with abortion experience who run the online forum and support each other), found out that two anti-choice organizations had filed reports with the police accusing us of committing two kinds of crimes and asking them to press charges against us for our activities.

One supposed crime they accused us of was the Abortion Dream Team’s post on Facebook, which gives information on how to prepare oneself for a home abortion. We have not yet heard from the law enforcement authorities about that, but we do expect something to happen.

The second one was about the online forum and “illegal helping” of women to have an abortion that is punishable under Polish law. As a result of that, one of us, Justyna Wydrzynska, who is the online forum’s administrator, was called in for an interview on 7 June. At the end of the interview, no charges were brought against her, and we are under the impression that none will be. But it is probably not the end, as there can be more attempts.

We know that this is a backlash. The forum has been operating for 12 years. For a long time, it was done quietly. Thousands of women got support they needed. Recently, it became more visible. Women with abortion experience who also support others started talking about it openly and proudly. The anti-choice people could not stand it.

We won’t ever agree that giving information and advice on abortion access – how and where to order pills, how to take them, what to do to make abortion more comfortable and safe – and having support during this experience is a crime of “illegally helping” someone to have an abortion. We will never agree to such an interpretation. And we won’t stop doing what we do even if they call us criminals and press charges against us. We are doing good for women, and we will be there for each other always.

We receive a lot of support and solidarity from our allies in Poland. Today one friend initiated a Facebook action where people write: “I also give information about abortion. You won’t hear about all of us. You can’t lock all of us up. Today, we have all had the experience of abortion; today, we all are abortion supporters”. We are using the hashtag #jatezmowieoaborcji in Polish. In English it is: #IAlsoInformAboutAbortion.

If you would like to do the same, to declare that you are also people who tell others about abortion possibilities, that you also help others to go through abortion in safety and comfort, you can also use this hashtag. You can report what we have written here and also whatever you want. It would be great if you could use one of the hashtags: #jatezmowieoaborcji in Polish; #IAlsoInformAboutAbortion in English.

We would truly appreciate it. Solidarity is our greatest strength.

Karolina, Natalia, Justyna

SOURCE: E-mail, 7 June 2018
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From: http://www.safeabortionwomensright.org/poland-polish-abortion-rights-advocates-reported-to-the-police-but-no-charges-were-brought-yet/