Women on Web Speech for Safe Abortion Day ’24
Hello! We are Women on Web, a non-profit international organization, working towards simple and self-determined access to abortion worldwide. People with unwanted pregnancies can use Women on Web’s services to receive reliable information and, if necessary, support in accessing abortion pills and online guidance to carry out a self-determined abortion at home up to the 12th week of pregnancy. And this is regardless of the legal context they live in or the financial resources available to them.
We receive inquiries from all over the world—Chile, South Africa, the Philippines, Malta, South Korea, Poland, Hungary—and from Germany, too.
The situation in Germany is bad. For many people with unwanted pregnancies, seeking an abortion is an almost inpassable or entirely impossible obstacle course. It’s no surprise to us that in 2023 alone, we received over 2,000 requests from Germany.
Some of these people are in vulnerable situations, such as financial instability, caring for small children, limited access to transportation, or dealing with insecure residency status, domestic violence, or control through the family.
However, for many others, telemedicine and a home-based abortion are by no means a last resort. On the contrary, they come to us because they want to decide for themselves in which setting, at what time, and with whom they want to have their abortion.
In many parts of Germany, people with unwanted pregnancies must wait weeks for an appointment and travel hours to a clinic—just to have a few pills handed to them. Already, 34% of abortions in Germany are medication-based. There is no medical reason why abortion pills should not be more easily available. They belong in the hands of those who need them.
Home-based medication abortions are safe, effective, and explicitly recommended by the WHO. A comprehensive system that meets the realities and needs of people with unwanted pregnancies can only be achieved through low-barrier telemedicine options. We are still far from that in Germany.
For us, destigmatizing, decriminalizing, and demedicalizing abortion go hand in hand. We support the call to remove abortion entirely from the criminal code. Abortions must be legal—at all stages. No person should ever be forced to carry a pregnancy against their will. No person should be forced to have another child against their will. Away with Paragraph 218!
We stand in solidarity with everyone around the world who circumvents abortion bans to help those with unwanted pregnancies—where governments are failing.
Abortion must always be possible: as early as possible and as late as necessary. We decide whether we carry a pregnancy to term and have a child, or not. Neither the state nor the church has the right to control our bodies—and certainly not fundamentalist anti-abortion opponents who want to maintain patriarchal structures and rely on far-right ideologies. We will stand firmly against them.
Information is power. No one can take away what we have learned about our bodies. That is why, at Women on Web, we also conduct research and global campaigns and media work to spread reliable information about medication abortions. Use this day today to do the same. Tell those around you about medication abortion and Women on Web.
We are standing with you on the streets today, and we are here for you if you need an abortion! For safe and unrestricted access to abortion—for everyone, without limitations!
