Abortion ship on course for return Irish visit

A DUTCH ship which caused uproar when it sailed to Ireland to carry out abortions for Irish women in 2001 has regained its licence and is coming back to this country.

Women on Waves will be making contact with pro-abortion groups here in the coming days and hopes to start carrying out abortions in international waters by the end of 2007, according to Rebecca Gomberts, Women on Waves director.

When it was last in Ireland in 2001 under invitation from the Dublin Abortion Rights and Cork Women’s Right to Choose, the group is thought to have been contacted by over 300 women hoping to avail of its service, but no surgical abortions were carried out after the Dutch and Irish authorities intervened.

Under the terms of the new licence issued to the group this week, it can once more sail the “abortion ship” under the Dutch flag to countries such as Ireland, where abortion is illegal, and hand out “abortion pills” for women up to seven weeks pregnant, causing them to have a miscarriage.

However it intends to fight the terms of what it sees as a restrictive licence because it wants to be able to offer the service to women up to 12 weeks and it is also not happy that a partner hospital must be found in the region from where the women come.

Women on Waves had been unable to carry out procedures since 2004 when restrictions were imposed by the previous Christian Democratic government. Those restrictions allowed it to provide abortion services in the first three months of pregnancy but was restricted to Amsterdam. However, even though it can now operate once more on open waters, it is still not happy with the new licence.

“We appealed the restriction (of the first licence) in the high court. The high court decided that this restriction was legally not correct and destroyed the licence,” said Ms Gomberts.

“Women on Waves expected to receive a new license for abortion services in the first trimester without any restrictions. But the new licence only allows for medical abortion until the seventh week of pregnancy and has some other similar restrictions as the licence that was destroyed on the indication of the High court. There is no medical or legal reason why Women on Waves is not allowed to provide abortion services after seven weeks of pregnancy and the restrictions in the new licence violate the high court’s decision,” she added.

She said they will continue to fight the restriction through the courts.

The group is raising funds to charter a boat for their next journey. “We would love to come to Ireland again though we have nothing definitive planned as yet,” said Ms Gomberts.

www.womenonwaves.org