On September 4th, Women on Waves celebrated the 10 years with a preview of the documentary in making by Diana Whitten. Over 100 people form countries all over the world attended the event.

The past 10 years:

Women on Waves was founded 10 years ago with the aim to prevent unsafe abortions and unwanted pregnancies by providing sexual health services including early medical abortions with pills, on board a Dutch ship outside the territorial waters of countries where abortion is illegal.
In the last 10 years Women on Waves has created enormous public interest after successful campaigns with a ship in Ireland (2001), Poland (2003), Portugal (2004) and Spain (2008). The campaign in Portugal catalyzed the legalization of abortion in February 2007.
Unfortunately, in June 2009 the Dutch government changed the abortion law and claims that the early abortion services Women on Waves used to provide legally on board the ship now fall under the criminal law. Women on Waves disagrees with this interpretation by the Dutch government and will try to get an official legal interpretation of the new regulation so that there are no unclarities during the next sailing campaigns.

The coming 10 years:

Although legalization of abortion is important, medical abortion with pills (misoprostol with or without mifepristone) now gives women the possibility to take their lives in their own hand again irrespective of the legality of abortion and the availability or willingness of doctors. Scientific research has shown that women are able to do medical abortions themselves at home and making information and medical abortion easily available to women
themselves can save women?s lives. Therefore Women on Waves now focuses on empowering women how to do a (medical) abortion safely themselves by distributing information through stickers, the internet and by supporting the creation of safe abortion telephone hotlines by women?s organizations. Women on Waves started a telephone helpline for the first time during the campaign in Portugal in 2004 which continued to work until
abortion was legalized there in 2007. Safe abortion hotlines have r...

Women on Waves is a non-profit organization concerned with women's human rights. Its mission is to prevent unwanted pregnancy and unsafe abortions throughout the world.

Women on Waves was founded in 1999 by Rebecca Gomperts. After her training as an abortion doctor, Rebecca Gomperts worked as a doctor on board Greenpeace ships. In South America she met many women who greatly suffer both physically and psychologically due to unwanted pregnancies and lack of access to safe, legal abortion. Their stories were all heart wrenching. There were women who were raped. There were women who had no means of support. And there were women who were ostracized from their communities. These women and their stories are the inspiration for Women on Waves.

Women on Waves has developed a mobile clinic. It can easily be loaded onto a ship, which enables it to travel to wherever it is needed worldwide.

With a ship Women on Waves can provide contraceptives, information, training, workshops, and safe and legal abortion services outside territorial waters in countries where abortion is illegal. In international waters (12 miles off the coast) local laws don’t apply.

Working in close cooperation with local organizations, Women on Waves wants to respond to an urgent medical need, empower women to exercise their human right to reproductive health and legal, safe abortion and draw public attention to the consequences of unwanted pregnancy and illegal abortion. Women on Waves supports the efforts of local organizations to change the laws in their country.

Women on Waves is registered in the Netherlands as a charitable organization under Article 24, lid 4 of the Successiewet 1956. As a result, donations to its Postbank account 3316 are fully tax deductible to the extent allowable by Dutch law. The activities of Women on Waves are supported by private and philanthropic funding. We depend on your contributions (which you can make on-line via a secure server) to continue our activities.

Women on Waves travels with a specialized abortion doctor, a gynaecologist and a specialised nurse so we can offer help and advice that even exceeds the highest standards for normal abortion services in the Netherlands and other EU countries.

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Empower women, Prevent unwanted pregnancy, Safe abortion, Reduce suffering, Liberalize the law

Empower women to make conscious, well informed decisions about family planning.

Prevent unwanted pregnancy.

Ensure safe and legal abortion.

Reduce unnecessary physical or psychological suffering and deaths from illegal abortions.

Catalyze support for liberalization of abortion laws worldwide.

Rebecca Gomperts (born 1966) studied medicine and visual arts in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. After graduating Gomperts became an abortion doctor and sailed with the Greenpeace ship, Rainbow Warrior, as its doctor and as an environmental activist. While sailing in South America she encountered many women who suffered greatly due to lack of access to reproductive heath services and safe, legal abortions. These women and their stories inspired Rebecca Gomperts to start Women on Waves.

Rebecca Gomperts has also written a novel Zeedrift and published articles and essays.

Awards

• Global Women’s Rights Awards, Feminist Majority Foundation 2007, Los Angeles, USA (www.msmagazine.com/news/uswirestory.asp?ID=10320)
• 1000 Peace-women for the Nobel Price, 2005 (www.1000peacewomen.org/typo/index.php?id=14&WomenID=653)
• “Margeret Sanger Woman of Valor Award” Planned Parenthood New York City, April 2004
• “Clara Wichmann penning” Liga van de rechten van de Mens (Dutch Human Rights Organisation December 2002, Netherlands (www.ligarechtenvandemens.nl/cmwp_2002_000.html)

- “Women making History award”, Planned Parenthood New York, April 2002

• “Women of the Year 2001”, MS magazine in New York US (www.msmagazine.com/dec01/woty.asp)