By Alexandra Sandacz
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands – “Women on Waves” (WoW), a Dutch organization that provides abortions and contraception information outside territorial waters, was met with harsh protests in Morocco on Thursday.
“Women on Waves” is a nonprofit organization, founded in 1999 by Dutch physician Rebecca Gomperts, that provides abortions to women in countries where abortions are illegal.
WoW’s travel to Morocco is the first trip into a Muslim country. The pro-choice organization also planned trips to Ireland, Poland, Portugal and Spain.
Although a local youth group, the Alternative Movement for Individual Liberties, invited the Dutch organization to raise support for the legalization of abortion in the country, Moroccan protesters targeted the Dutch abortion-rights activist at a port where the WoW ship was expected to dock.
Protesters carried pictures of bloody embryos and screamed words such as, “terrorist” and “assassin.” Police were eventually forced to block persistent protesters as they tried to get closer to the activists. The Moroccan government maintains that the Dutch boat was not permitted to visit, abortion is illegal in the majority of cases in Morocco, and it also is forbidden to give out information about the medical procedures.
Abdelmaik Zaza, a Moroccan lawyer, stated, “Moroccan law forbids abortion. Moroccan religious identity says it is forbidden and so does Islam. So the government cannot allow this ship to come to Morocco.”
In addition, Chafik Chraibi, head of a Moroccan NGO that believes abortions should be performed legally, also resisted the Dutch abortion boat’s visit. He says, “It’s true that the initiative is symbolic, to defend the rights of women to have abortions, but to practice abortion at sea, in international waters, is for me a way of circumventing the law and is something clandestine.”
WoW argues that the purpose of the visit is to offer women “safe legal medical abortions” in a country where the practice is illegal and taboo. WoW also intends to set up hotlines to inform women about safe medical abortions.
Doctor Rebecca Gomperts, the founder of “Women on Waves”, supports her cause by determining around 600 to 800 Moroccan women have an abortion every day. She says, “The problem is that only about 200 cases are done properly, by women who have money. This leads to the deaths of 78 Moroccan women each year on average.”
However, Hannan Idrissa, a member of a Moroccan pro-life group was quoted saying, “The figures on abortion are not right.”
For further information, please see:
The Huffington Post — Dutch Abortion Ship: ‘Women on Waves’ Boat Heads For Morocco – 4 October 2012
International Business Times — Dutch ‘Abortion Boat’ Is Blocked From Entering Morocco – 4 October 2012
The Raw Story — Moroccans voice opposition to Dutch ‘abortion boat’ – 3 October 2012
BBC News — Dutch abortion boat heads to Morocco – 1 October 2012
