London, England - A controversial subject in many arenas, the abortion debate is now headed into uncharted territory - the high seas.
In the tradition of offshore radio stations, tax havens, and casinos, Women on Waves, an Amsterdam-based pro-abortion organization, is planning to launch the world's first floating abortion facility. An all-female Dutch crew will staff the vessel.
The ship itself is yet to be officially chosen but plans are in place for it to be purchased, prepared and test-sailed before the end of the of spring. A mobile treatment room, which will be transferred and installed on the ship, is currently being constructed in the Netherlands.
Organizers plan to circumvent the laws of countries opposed to abortions by conducting them offshore in international waters.
Rebecca Gomperts, coordinator of the pro-abortion foundation, said funding had been received from groups around the world and that the $190,000 needed for a trial run was already in place.
The ship will moor just 12 miles offshore, targeting pro-life countries where abortions are illegal or very difficult to obtain.
According to Women on Waves, two-thirds of the world's population lives within 100 miles of port cities, so the ship will in theory be accessible to a majority of women worldwide.
The group estimates one in four women worldwide live in pro-life countries that ban abortion or allow it only in cases where the mother's life is endangered.
Gomperts said performing the abortions 12 miles out to sea would place the ship under international law and not the laws of the nearest country. However, some experts believe this interpretation may vary from country to country.
Gomperts says she is well aware of the challenge. "This will certainly raise questions. It has never been done before and there are some very complex jurisdictional issues."
Gomperts and her staff will live aboard the ship and hope to have facilities to provide abortions to as many as 25 women at a time. Only first-trimester abortions will be performed, and the services will be free to those unable to afford them.
Gomperts was once a ship's doctor aboard Greenpeace's Rainbow Warrior and credits her service onboard that ship as the inspiration for her creation of Women on Waves. She claims that every year, there are 53 million abortions worldwide.
But skepticism is likely to arise over safety onboard her ship - how safe the conditions will be during the abortions. Many believe women will be injured by unsafe abortions performed on a rocking ship.
The "abortion ship" is facing a backlash even before its launch.
The country of Malta, a Mediterranean island and overwhelmingly Roman Catholic country, has already reacted with outrage to advance publicity. Abortion is illegal in Malta and is regarded as murder. Several newspapers have said deputy prime minister and social policy minister, Lawrence Gonzi, is ready to prosecute anyone who collaborates with Gomperts and Women on Waves.
"Anyone who is in breach of Maltese law, must understand that he or she will have to face the consequences of that breach," his office said in a statement. "At the end of the day, it is our courts who will judge whether someone has breached the law, and if so, what the consequences will be."
Poland and Ireland join Malta as European countries where abortion is illegal. However, Women on Waves says it is Third World countries, throughout South America, Africa and Asia, where they will concentrate.
Women on Waves will not just be using the ship to do abortions but they also plan to train abortion practitioners in many countries.
Pro-life groups have expressed outrage. According to Josephine Quintavalle, spokeswoman for Britain's Comment on Reproductive Ethics, "It is death on the high seas. What a dreadful thought."
Pro-Life Infonet
23. april 2001