CLPP, Reproductive Rights, and the Developing World

Last Saturday I attended a conference sponsored by the Civil Liberties and Public Policy Program (CLPP) called "From Abortion Rights to Social Justice: Building the Movement for Reproductive Freedom. (You can read about some of the conference panels at Feministing.) Wow! The day was divided into three workshops which generally consisted of a panel of speakers and a Q&A session. The first two I went to were so intense for me that I couldn't make it through a third. The first one I went to was about abortion methods. The first woman who spoke was Susan Yanow. She runs an international organization that provides women seeking abortions with abortion medications that allow a woman to self-induce a miscarriage safely at her home. The goal is to reduce the number of deaths due to unsafe abortions. This service is only offered in countries where there is no safe and legal access to abortions to women who have no severe medical conditions and are less than 9 weeks pregnant. Her organization is completely decentralized and self-sustaining because the work is done online. "Women on Web is a digital community of women who have had abortions and individuals and organizations that support abortion rights." These women and activists answer thousands of emails daily from women who email them seeking services and information. If a woman is seeking an abortion, she will fill out a survey about her health. The first question asks "Did you take a pregnancy test?" and the options are (1) Yes, and I am pregnant, (2) No, I did not do a pregnancy test, and (3) No, but I did get an ultrasound and I am pregnant. Underneath there is a link that says, "What if you are not pregnant but take the medicines anyway?" Each question proceeds much like this one: a straight-forward question, two or more options, and links to questions that anticipate and address the most frequently asked questions. You can tell that the sight is run by women for women. Linking a woman to a "What will happen if I am not pregnant but take the medicine anyway?" when she has been asked "Did you take a pregnancy test?" is an intuitive reassurance to a desperate woman. It tells her that she does not have to try to "cheat the system" to get the help she needs. She should not be afraid to ask questions that might her reveal desperate determination, because all questions are welcomed and answered. The health survey also asks questions like "Does...[your pregnancy] endanger your health?" "How do you feel about your decision?" and "Are you sure that you want to end your pregnancy and no one is forcing you?" I could go on and on listing all of the questions because I was just blown away by how thoughtful and sensitive the questions were. They don't ask the woman shaming questions like "How many partners have you had?" They don't promote a particular family form by asking questions about the father of the child. 

The one thing that did bother me was after the question, "Do you have an STI?" they say that the risk of contracting an STI, "increases when one has unprotected sex or after rape," which isn't exactly true. Your risk for an STI increases with unprotected sex without regard to whether or not the sex was consensual. I was also bothered by what followed that question, "If you have been raped we advise you to get tested for STI's and to go to the police." This oversimplifies the issue and ignores the way that rape victims are treated by the police, the fact that women may have very well been raped by the police, and that there are places where even the rape victim could be severely punished for being unchaste. 

After filling out her health survey, the woman can get information and medical counseling from a licensed doctor who can provide her with a medical abortion after consultation. She needs access to a place where she can receive a package.

This website and services could change the lives of women in countries where there is no legal abortion access--countries like Ghana. Having a child can terminate a woman's education, which is directly tied to her chances of upward mobility, and solidify her place as mother and caretaker. If the woman is unmarried, having a child significantly lowers her desirability as a marriage partner, which can effectively doom a poor woman to a life of poverty.


In the U.S., we often talk about abortion in terms of a woman's "right to choose." We need to talk more about the fact that access to safe abortion saves lives. Self-induced medical abortion poses a lower risk of fatality than giving birth, nevermind having an illegal abortion. So, I think that this movement is very important. The problem, of course, is spreading the word to women that this service is available, especially in this political climate when a media-induced frenzy could result in legislative backlash that attempts to shut this operation down. This service is likely to disproportionately serve women living in more urban spaces unless/until information is disseminated among rural areas. There is ground for optimism, as panelist from womenonwaves said that they are currently brainstorming ideas about how to do just that.


Snaps to women helping women. You can help by donating here.