Preparations

The Coordinadora Juvenil por la Equidad de Género (Youth Committee for Gender Equity, ‘CPJ’) invited Women on Waves to come to Ecuador to support them in their stuggle to legalize abortion. CPJ is a youth led organization of men and women between ages 13 and 30 years old. It fosters the voice of young people, promoting a future of inclusion with equity, solidarity, justice and respect. The organization is committed to reaching a society of associative cooperation and sustainability, for both women and men.

In January we traveled along the whole coast of Ecuador to find the best place for the campaign. Esmeraldas. Esmeraldas already has a history of liberation In 1553 a Spanish slaving ship ran aground and 23 Africans freed themselves, swam ashore and settles in Esmeraldas.

How can I do an abortion?
The best and safest way a woman can do an abortion herself until the 9th week of pregnancy is with the use of two medicines called Mifepristone (also known as the abortion pill, RU 486, Mifegyn, Mifeprex), and Misoprostol (also known as Cytotec, Arthrotec, Oxaprost , Cyprostol, Mibetec, Prostokos or Misotrol).
A medical abortion done this way has a success rate of more than 97%. If you live in a country where there is no access to safe abortion services and you would like to obtain a medical abortion with Mifepristone and Misoprostol, please go to Women on Web. This is a online medical abortion help service that refers to a doctor who can provide you with a medical abortion.
A woman can also do an abortion herself until the 9th week of pregnancy with only the use of Misoprostol.
october 16 th, 2008:
Wrestling on the water
After the ship arrived, two small boats tried to pull it away from the quay. The women on shore took the other ropes and pulled as hard as they could. But unfortunately the engines of the small boat had more horsepower than the women.
After a short struggle, the small boat withdrew and the Women on waves ship could dock again.
Women's right to autonomy has triumphed!!
Diary:
Ecuador Diary
June 14 th 2008, Women on Waves arrived in Ecuador. Here is a day by day account of the campaign, the action, the activists, the progress of the hotline, the reactions on the local level to this initiative and the personal impressions of the people involved.
Spain, October 2008
Women on Waves has visited Spain from October 16 till 21 at the invitation of 33 Spanish organisations (please click here for list) concerned with a better abortion law.

If you need help with abortion in Spain now, click here
Abortion on our ship
You can make an appointment with us by telephone, email or by visiting the ship. We will inform you about when and where to board the ship. You will be treated according to Dutch professional medical standards, which include full confidentiality about counselling and/or treatment. Here you can read more about counselling, the treatment and what to expect afterwards.
The Portuguese Diary
In this day-to-day diary, read what happened during the Women on Waves campaign in Portugal.
Media Portugal
The best way to get an impression of the discussion in Portuguese society is to look at the overwhealming press coverage. From august 23 on, we have collected more than 700 newspaper articles. Next to the continuous TV coverage on all channels public and commercial. It shows how our trip has helped to put legal abortion on the agenda again in Portugal.
BBC Correspondent
Link More about the BBC documentary "Abortionship" from the Poland campaign]