(en) France, Coordination of Anarchist Groups - IAL #100 - For free and open to all abortion, anywhere and unconditionally (en, pt)

 [Traduction automatique]

Bill the Rajoy government (against) abortion, showed that the reaction never accept 
conquests for our freedoms in general, especially when it comes to women's. It therefore 
seemed interesting to return to the Spanish bill, to do a little tour of European news, 
with a focus on France and reaffirm why we claim a free abortion. ---- The spanish bill 
---- The Spanish reactionary government led by Rajoy passed a bill to eliminate altogether 
the right of women to decide freely to terminate their pregnancies. Rescinding the 2010 
law, this bill restricts indeed the right to abortion in two cases. The first, in case of 
risk of serious danger to the life or physical or mental health of the woman. But the text 
requires that the diagnosis be issued by two different and foreign doctors practicing in 
establishing abortion. A doctor was once enough. In the second case, it is necessary that 
the pregnancy is the result of a crime against liberty or sexual integrity of women. But 
in cases of rape, she will have had previously complained. For the malformation of the 
fetus may be invoked as a ground for termination of pregnancy will require two reports, 
one for the mother and one for the fetus. It also facilitates the extension of the concept 
of conscientious objection to all personnel involved in the process of abortion. 
Logically, the richest Spanish will have an abortion in France or England. For those who 
have not the means to go abroad, they will pay the consequences of illegal abortions. By 
empowering medical checks by removing the ability of minors to access abortion, limiting 
the possibilities of abortion, the Rajoy law undermines women's autonomy in decision 
making on their bodies and their sexuality. Spain is getting ready to vote the most 
authoritarian and repressive law against women's rights since the end of the Franco 
dictatorship.

A brief overview of the situation in europe and worldwide1

In Europe, Ireland, Poland, Malta and Cyprus do not allow abortion. For cons, the 
Netherlands and Great Britain, abortion is performed up to 22 weeks (12 weeks in France). 
Belarus in January 2013 and Macedonia in June of that year have restricted access to abortion.

In Switzerland, a popular initiative project (largely prompted by the Catholic pro-life 
movements) requesting termination of reimbursement abortions has collected over 109,000 
signatures (100,000 is the minimum required). During the referendum of February 9, 2014, 
69.8% of voters voted in favor of management by health insurance Interruptions Volunteers 
of Pregnancy (VIP). The initiative "Funding abortion is a private matter - Reducing health 
insurance costs by deleting abortion insurance core" is thus hopefully not last, but it 
shows that the reactionary are in full offensive.

In Finland, women must get a doctor's approval and justify a risk to her physical or 
mental health. In fact, it seems the law is interpreted more broadly. However the climate 
is deleterious in 2013 a minister called abortion butchers and considers it should be 
allowed at any stage of pregnancy. In Italy, up to 85% of physicians rely on the 
conscience clause not to perform abortions. Illegal abortions are increasing with, among 
others, a very dangerous drug "miracle" called Cyclotec. In Hungary, the only clinic 
offering medical abortion was closed in January due to political pressure.

In Belgium, fewer and fewer physicians meet the demand for abortion. Elsewhere in the 
world, the list of countries banning abortion or restricting is long and still is a great 
influence of religion in Israel, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, a few examples among many others. 
More generally, the austerity policies and the governments that lead throughout Europe 
(including France) are responsible for hardening of relay of patriarchal oppression 
reactionary speech to the confinement of women in home, questioning abortion, end of the 
economic independence of many women, increased male violence.

patriarchal This general offensive in Europe and the world, supported by the most 
reactionary forces, designed to trap women in "their natural duties" (mother, housewife, 
maid of all work and of course heterosexual), and is particularly severe where the crisis 
hit hardest. Each year, according to WHO, 20 million pregnancies ending with 46 million 
induced abortions take place under unsafe conditions and in a hostile social and legal 
context. This causes annually kill about 47,000 women from infections, hemorrhages, 
uterine injury etc.

The situation in france

In France, the right to abortion law went into it 40 years ago. But here, as in Spain, or 
elsewhere, nothing is guaranteed and the right to abortion is always threatened. Since 
Aubry Act 2001, the statutory deadline for abortion is 12 weeks pregnant (14 weeks of 
amenorrhea). But this right is limited by the fact of lack of space in the centers. This 
deficit is widening as the abortion clinics are closing. Bottlenecks exist in some areas 
where demand is high (eg PACA). For 10 years, about 180 abortion centers were closed by 
"restructuring" and "clusters" of hospitals, particularly in the context of pricing 
activity (T2A), established by law Bachelot (HPST 2009 ) hospitals submitting the throes 
of financial profitability: abortion, poorly paid, and disappears in the supply of a 
number of institutions. Access to abortion is in fact undermined by the disappearance of 
local structures and the wait time is so long that it prohibits some women to abort due to 
exceeding the legal time of 12 weeks. Many women are then forced to go abroad to practice 
abortion. Obviously women economically weakest and most isolated do not have the means to 
exercise that option. In 2010, a third of women who went abroad have applied in France 
before 14 weeks of gestation, but could not find a solution within the legal deadline. It 
takes about 3 to 4 weeks before an abortion. This encouraged women to date to go to Spain, 
where the delays are longer, in order to abort. The questioning of the right to abortion 
in Spain will also have the effect of reversing this trend and increasingly precarious 
access to abortion in France.

Besides the question of how the question of the exercise of objection or conscience clause 
becomes the screen behind which is home to many refractory to medical abortion. The 2001 
law is not applied in full and the choice of women is still subject to the medical and 
social activist pressure reactionaries. The anti-abortion lobbies and "pro-life" movement 
(often the same people who argue for the restoration of the death penalty) continue to 
push for legislation restricting or prohibiting abortion.
attacks extreme right and Catholic fundamentalists on the right to abortion multiply slyly 
on the net (in the guise of help and advice to abortion) and openly in the street (events, 
intrusions and prayers before the abortion clinics). They were still 40,000 in the streets 
of Paris in mid-January to support the bill the Spanish government...
Beyond the anti-abortion activists, a discourse on abortion can be guilt for women: " 
normalization "of abortion is presented, including some favorable to abortion circles as a 
disaster to be avoided at all costs; the "trauma" surrounding abortion is too often seen 
as inevitable, even obligatoire2. The abortion is often combined with the passive - and 
painful: we are "subject" an abortion, it "uses" an abortion, it "involves" an abortion... 
In short, the words attached to this decision have generally negative connotations, this 
social context effectively limits the choice of women by making it more complicated.

The right to abortion: the only choice for women

This right, like contraception, involves the right to dispose of her body. The 
consequences of motherhood are different for fathers and mothers. The pregnant woman 
knows, she and she alone, whether or not she wants to spend nine months of his life in a 
future birth and birth and caring for a child after birth. In contrast to this, the 
masculinist movement demanding the human right to authorize or prohibit abortion.
We support the right to abortion in all circumstances and without time limit. The decision 
to abort or not is the sole responsibility of the pregnant woman. Restrict this right 
amounts to restrict the options of all women face their lives. We are therefore called 
"pro-choice."

Expression "Abortion" is clearly centered on the word "voluntary" and when we speak of 
"unwanted pregnancy", it is the lack of desire to be a mother prevails. Person, including 
a health professional, can deny that feeling.

Prior to abortion, the overall fertility control by women themselves, independently, is 
also an important issue. Medical control for contraception, officially intended to protect 
women's health and to provide advice on contraception options available to them, resulting 
ultimately in a more or less orchestrated disinformation, resulting in a limitation of 
choice. The truth is qu'affranchies any "control" and relying on health professionals to 
validate medically personal choice, women would finally have control over their 
contraceptive approach, their sexuality and their fertility. The concern for public health 
displayed to preserve the health and well-being of women often hides a refusal of 
patriarchal power, and through him the medical power of seeing women as able to decide for 
themselves what suits them better.

This is too much autonomy for the proponents of a company, there is less than a century, 
not even considering to grant women equal to men's legal capacity... It is unbearable for 
states that through natalist policies always see the way to benefit from fodder boss to 
economic needs and cannon fodder for their economic and colonial wars.

Birth control is a major challenge for the perpetuation of patriarchy.

Any change could wobble patriarchy in its most solid foundation and it is important to 
keep women under control, in order to preserve the social base, political and economic in 
place. We see this issue the bonds and mutual reinforcement of different systems of 
domination (ie capitalism and patriarchy). We fight this situation and reaffirm our 
commitment that women can freely dispose of their bodies.

To conclude

Far from being outdated, the struggles over access to contraception and abortion are free 
and open indispensable attacks to limit this right... the show
must organize resistance against the economic threats (case of hospital) supporting 
struggles against bed closures of abortion centers and hospitals.
We also provide a response to anti-abortion activists by taking an offensive speech on the 
demand for abortion and contraception free and open.
Attacks against abortion in Spain resulted in a series of demonstrations in support of 
Spanish feminists across Europe. In many French cities, initiatives have taken place this 
hiver3. This solidarity must be developed to not leave the street to the reaction from the 
"for AKI (against) any / all" multiplies public appearances.
Finally, we need to make sense of these struggles by linking them to a broader critique of 
patriarchy and all systems of domination, arguing loudly our struggle for freedom and the 
individual and collective emancipation.

Anne and Gilles (group Montpellier)

1 For situations and laws on abortion in different countries see: page "Right to Abortion" 
on Wikipedia, and the article "Abortion in Europe. Where is the good news? "On the site of 
Planned Parenthood

2 On this subject see the article "Fighting against the culture of trauma around abortion: 
a social and political issue" Gaelle-Marie Zimmermann, journalist, author and columnist

3 For example, on 1 February 2014, at the initiative of group of Montpellier CGA, several 
organizations have called for demonstrations: Nearly 400 people braved the rain in 
solidarity with the Spanish women. See call for expression