Moroccan authorities escorted a sailboat from Women on Waves out of the port of Smir on Thursday. The boat is part of the Dutch women’s rights group’s campaign to spread information about abortion to countries where the medical procedure is banned.
Moroccan authorities shut down the port of Smir when they received word that a ship offering medical abortions up to 6.5 weeks was on its way from Europe after being invited to the country by a local women’s rights organization. At that point, Women on Waves announced that they already had a small yacht inside the port. This yacht was advertising an informational hotline for women to get information about medications that can induce an abortion. The yacht was escorted out of the port by police. Anti-choice protesters demonstrated outside the marina, and were blocked by police when they attempted to reach Women on Waves founder Rebecca Gomperts.
Women on Waves has established hotlines in multiple South American and Middle Eastern countries and has visited countries with restrictive abortion laws including Ireland, Poland, and Spain.
Media Resources: Sources: BBC 10/4/12; Washington Post 10/4/12; Ms Blog 10/4/12
