Well this is sad...
Docked Forever: Women ON Waves Abortion Boat is No More
The Dutch "abortion boat" run by the organization Women on Waves (WoW) has announced it will anchor, possibly permanently.
After ten years of sailing through international waters, informing women about the abortion pill and distributing it through their organization, WoW has docked the ship, cancelling all of its upcoming trips . It's a sign of the times. Rebecca Gompert, founder of WoW and from whose expertise and passion the ship was borne, says that opposition to abortion is only growing worldwide and that, in fact, Obama's leadership has only empowered anti-abortion forces...
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The Dutch government, in May, changed their abortion laws to serious effect. The government decided to "limit their distribution of abortion pills to specially approved clinics only", according to an article in the international publication, NRC Handelsblad. WoW had received special permission from the former Dutch Health Minister but now they are being denied as a distribution point for the pills.
The Health Inspection Office is even going so far as to ask the public prosecutor's office to prosecute WoW for distributing the abortion pill to women off the coast of Spain in 2008. This latest development has also forced WoW into an extremely challenging position, needing to defend itself and build a case.
Gomperts said that in light of the current obstacles, docking the boat was the only option right now:
"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." ....
Of good quotes: "I still get upset by the fact that a woman's right to self-determination is not respected when it comes to abortion. It is a great wrong and it is responsible for women being oppressed and dying unnecessarily." -- Rebecca Gomperts
The Dutch "abortion boat" run by the organization Women on Waves (WoW) has announced it will anchor, possibly permanently.
After ten years of sailing through international waters, informing women about the abortion pill and distributing it through their organization, WoW has docked the ship, cancelling all of its upcoming trips . It's a sign of the times. Rebecca Gompert, founder of WoW and from whose expertise and passion the ship was borne, says that opposition to abortion is only growing worldwide and that, in fact, Obama's leadership has only empowered anti-abortion forces...
[...]
The Dutch government, in May, changed their abortion laws to serious effect. The government decided to "limit their distribution of abortion pills to specially approved clinics only", according to an article in the international publication, NRC Handelsblad. WoW had received special permission from the former Dutch Health Minister but now they are being denied as a distribution point for the pills.
The Health Inspection Office is even going so far as to ask the public prosecutor's office to prosecute WoW for distributing the abortion pill to women off the coast of Spain in 2008. This latest development has also forced WoW into an extremely challenging position, needing to defend itself and build a case.
Gomperts said that in light of the current obstacles, docking the boat was the only option right now:
"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." ....
Of good quotes: "I still get upset by the fact that a woman's right to self-determination is not respected when it comes to abortion. It is a great wrong and it is responsible for women being oppressed and dying unnecessarily." -- Rebecca Gomperts