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.

Women can go to jail for 1 to 5 years for an abortion. Those performing an abortion can go to jail for 2 to 5 years.

The Penal Code of Ecuador prohibits abortion except in the case of a threat to the life or health of a pregnant woman or when the pregnancy is the result of a rape of a woman who is an idiot or insane.
Although abortion is only permitted on therapeutic and limited juridical grounds, it is widely practiced in Ecuador. The WHO estimates that 95.000 abortions take place in Ecuador every year (30 per 1000 women in fertile age per year) . There are only 200 registered legal abortions every year . Hospital data show that 20,000 to 30,000 women are admitted with complications arising from botched abortions each year. Unsafe abortion causes 18% of the materiaal mortality in Ecuador.

On 4 June 1984, Ecuador adopted a new Constitution that guarantees the protection of life from conception (article 25). At this moment the country's constitution is being rewritten by the Constituent Assembly, elected specifically for that purpose. It would be very important that the right for the unborn would be removed to make safe and legal abortion possible in Ecuador. In November 2007, The National Congress of Ecuador has shelved legislation that would have eliminated the "therapeutic abortion" exception from the criminal code's penalties for abortion.

For more press information:

Women on Waves:
or +31652052561

Coordinadora Juvenil:
+593 8 2916415

More information:
The World Health Organization estimates that 95.000 illegal and unsafe abortions take place in Ecuador each year. As a result 30.000 women are hospitalized for complications every year and unsafe abortion is one of the main causes of maternal mortality (130 deaths per 100,000 live births). In Ecuador abortion is illegal except in the case of a threat to the life or health of a pregnant woman, when this danger cannot be averted by other means, or when the pregnancy is the result of a rape or statutory rape of a woman who is mentally disabled or insane.

Every year 42 million women choose to have an abortion worldwide, making abortion one of the most performed medical procedures in the world. Making abortion illegal does not reduce the abortion rate. When legal, abortion is a very safe procedure. Abortion is legal in most parts of the world, such as Europe, the United States, India, and China.

To call attention to the right for objective sexual education and legal and safe abortion services, the Ecuadorian Organisation, Coordinadora Juvenil por la Equidad de Genero, invited Women on Waves to Ecuador. On the Women on Waves ship, women can have a medical abortion in international waters were Dutch law applies. In Europe, more than 1.5 million women have terminated their pregnancies with the medicines mifepristone and misoprostol. A medical abortion is proven to be safe and effective. Mifepristone and misoprostol are on the World Health Organization’s list of essential medicines since 2005.

On its way to Ecuador, the Women on Waves ship, Harmony, ran aground in a tropical storm. But to do a safe abortion with pills, there is no need for a Dutch ship, as this is the age of worldwide communication, internet and mobile phones. Women from Ecuador can be free to decide themselves and take their lives in their own hands with the support of local organisations as the Coordinadora Juvenil, independent of the restrictive abor...

photo by Mrova

photo by Myra