The Abortion Support Network, a charity that helps people travel from Malta, Gibraltar and Poland to access abortions in countries with more liberal laws, saw a dramatic increase in calls to its hotline when borders closed in March. “The contacts we are getting are a lot more frantic,” says the network’s founder, Mara Clarke.

Abortion providers argue the fact new figures from the UK Department of Health show 26 women a week had to needlessly travel abroad to have their pregnancies terminated last year demonstrates measures to decriminalise abortion have failed.

Thousands of women have contacted a hotline in just three months as the coronavirus lockdown complicates access

At the end of May, the Irish Government introduced a 14-day quarantine for anyone entering the State and tracking information for each person entering. These requirements have significant implications for anyone travelling for abortion, and further reveal the failings of a law so restrictive that – two years on from Repeal – people are still…

Pro-choice groups have flagged Facebook pages which have popped up in recent months claiming to sell abortion pills in Malta.

Featuring Mara Clarke from 25.48

Pro-choice group No more Shame says there’s been a dramatic increase in calls from Gibraltar to the Abortion Support Network In the two months since the postponement of the referendum.

De Ierse abortuswet veranderde 25 mei 2018 drastisch: abortus werd legaal. Twee jaar na de stemming heeft Ierland kennisgemaakt met de nieuwe abortuswet. “Na de afschaffing dacht men dat het afgehandeld was. Maar er kwamen juist steeds meer barrières in de wet. Mensen vallen tussen wal en schip”, vertelt Mara Clarke van Abortion Support Network. 

10 June 2020, Warsaw   Abortion Without Borders initiative has helped more than 1400 people in Poland in 6 months Group has given pregnancy options counselling, information about safe abortion with pills in Poland, and funding and practical support for abortion outside Poland.   ▪ Launched 11 Dec 2019, Abortion Without Borders has received more…

The woman was 21 weeks pregnant when she contacted Abortion Without Borders (AWB), a network of activist groups that advises Polish women on how to access safe terminations. Normally, it would have been relatively simple to book a flight to the United Kingdom, where she could legally access a second-trimester abortion. But the coronavirus outbreak…