Women on Waves: Challenging abortion laws around the world.

[the_future_modernes]

THERE IS A SHIP THAT SAILS THROUGH LOOPHOLES IN INTERNATIONAL LAW...Vessel


TEDxAmazônia - Diana Whitten sobre aborto e hipocrisia - Nov.2010

Women on Waves

Women on Waves: The Abortion Rights Movement Sets Sail

Approximately 25% of the world’s population lives in countries with very restrictive abortion laws. The majority of these countries are located in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. In Chile, for example, an illegal abortion is a criminal offense punishable by jail time. These anti-abortion laws are rooted in Pope Pius IX’s decree in 1869 that ensoulement occurs at conception. Thus, laws in the 19th century prohibited the termination of pregnancy. These laws from two centuries ago form the basis of the legislation against abortion that still exists in numerous developing countries today. While many developed countries relaxed their abortion laws in the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s with the rise of human rights movements, the countries in which abortion is still illegal retained their colonial era laws.

Rebecca Gomperts founded Women on Waves in 1999 to ease the suffering of women in these countries who had no means of obtaining abortion services. She developed a mobile abortion clinic that can be easily transported onto a ship. Aboard the ship, WoW also provides contraceptives, information, training, and workshops in addition to safe and legal abortions. When the ship is in international waters, at least 12 miles off the coast, the local anti-abortion laws do not apply. Gomperts’s strategy is to stir up controversy with her visit and to ignite debate that may eventually lead to a reversal in the legislation against abortion.

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is this the best the usa can do?

[stoneself]

Somewhere to turn for the uninsured

Our bloodstained, water poisoning, hunger causing gold. Our murderous Trade Agreements

[the_future_modernes]

Aug 2009 Pacific Rim Silent in Wake of Violence Against Anti-mining Protesters in Cabañas, El Salvador

A wave of violence targeted at anti-mining protesters has ripped through Cabañas in north-eastern El Salvador, and Pacific Rim Mining Corporation, the mid-size Canadian company which has lost millions in its effort to exploit the area's ample gold deposits has remained curiously silent on the attacks.

Last month, Marcelo Rivera, a prominent anti-mining activist, community leader and FMLN member was forcibly disappeared by unknown assailants. Though many organizations immediately denounced his disappearance, police failed to act quickly enough to alter his fate. Rivera's disfigured body was found dumped in a well two weeks after he was last seen alive.MORE

El Salvador: The Mysterious Death of Marcelo Rivera

"What occurred is that we were interviewing organizations such as Medicina Legal, a lawyer from Tutela Legal and local economists, and in our conversations what they each said 'what is happening right now is the disappearance of Marcelo Rivera,'" said Moffett.

The details around Rivera's case, his "disappearance" and torture, corresponds with the way death squads worked during that country's civil war.

"Its concerning that history may be repeating itself in El Salvador," said Moffett.

This led Moffett to make a short film on the murder, which he titled The Mysterious Death of Marcelo Rivera.

El Salvador's attorney general's office, along with local police, suggested Rivera was drinking with local gang members and was killed by them as a result of a fight that ensued. Rivera's family and friends were quick to point out that he didn't drink. The attorney general's story was largely rejected, not just by those close to Rivera, but by the rest of the country as well. In addition, the local police first reported that Rivera's death was due to two blows to the head, which a later autopsy revealed was untrue.MORE

Another Anti-mining Activist Shot in Cabañas El Salvador, Hitman Tied to Pacific Rim is Detained
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Dec 2009 El Salvador: Ramiro Rivera Shot to Death in Cabañas

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Dec 2009 El Salvador - Hitmen Assassinate Prominent Woman Activist in Cabañas; Pro-Mining Violence Continues

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The 2011 Goldman Prize for South America goes to Franciso Pineda.


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Protests halt gold mining in El Salvador

Canada's Pacific Rim mining company owns all the land around El Dorado in El Salvador - one of the most coveted gold mines in Central America.

But the company has been unable to dig in because of resistance from local environmentalists who say that cyanide used in gold mining will contaminate their rivers.

The mine is currently shut down because of protests.

And the recent murders and death threats against activists in the region have put the spotlight on the gold mining project there.

Aug 2011Water or Gold: A Deadly Debate

We are inside a greenhouse, gazing at row after row of hydroponic tomatoes and green peppers, learning why people in this community in northern El Salvador are receiving death threats. We have been sent byThe Nation magazine to chronicle the struggle by people here to protect their river from the toxic chemicals of global mining firms intent on realizing massive profits from El Salvador’s rich veins of gold.

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