I recently spoke to Dr. Rebecca Gomperts, founder of Women on Waves, the organization that helps women from countries where abortion is illegal, obtain the controversial abortion pill RU-486 on a ship-sailing under the Dutch flag-anchored in international waters in front of the pro-life country’s coast. She is currently campaigning in Valencia, Spain.
As we started our Skype conversation (she’s in Amsterdam, I’m in New York), in Dutch, Gompert’s phone rings and she switches agilely to English. It’s a woman calling from South Africa who’s looking for a local Women On Waves clinic. There isn’t one in South Africa, but Rebecca goes online to find a clinic in Soweto that does abortions and gives the caller its phone number. WOW has only one office, in Amsterdam, but they keep a database of all abortion clinics across the world.
JS: Are all the clinics on your list legal?
RG: It’s a very sensitive subject, but because we know so many people in this field, we can recommend doctors where women can obtain safe abortions. Even if illegal.
JS: Has being born in Suriname, a former Dutch colony that slipped into poverty post-independence, influenced your choices?
RG: I was born in Suriname, where abortion is still illegal, by the way.* My father’s family lived there for many generations. In Suriname, all cultures live adjacent to one another other, Chinese, Indians, Blacks and Dutch. But this happens in Holland too, so no, I don’t think that being born there has consciously influenced my choices. Our family moved to Holland when I was three, my father traveled for work, and as children we would often visit other countries during the holidays, exposing us to many cultures from an early age. The multicultural environment with which I’m familiar may have given me a wider scope, but this has most likely been more sub-conscious. I’ve always felt I’m a global citizen, but also feel very Dutch. Amsterdam is my home.
JS: What is the biggest issue facing women who want to have an abortion?
RG: Women are still being questioned by society on their ability to make an objective, non-emotional, choice. Those are the stereotypes. When a woman decides that she needs to have an abortion, she has most definitely given it much, and serious, thought. She will not take it lightly and will have understood that she is not in the position to really take care of the un-born baby. It should not be necessary for a woman to have to defend her decision to end a pregnancy.
The notion that a woman is not deemed capable of making her own decisions infuriates me (her voice hikes up a few octaves, as her speech increases in speed). It is precisely those women, with an acute sense of responsibility, who know what they can, or cannot, offer a child.
JS: Why did you decide to dedicate your life to this cause, and what do you love about it?
RG: Per year about 70,000 women in the world die unnecessarily because of botched abortions. These could have been avoided by legal and safe abortions. As a doctor I see this as a healthcare issue.
I love what I do because the work allows me to use all of my talents (Gomperts is not only a medical doctor, but also an artist, and a licensed captain of a ship), challenging me to be the best I can. My job also gives me a lot of freedom, allowing me to decide how to spend my time. But the most important motivator is getting women who need help, the resources they require.
JS: Starting a pro-choice movement from a ship and sailing to countries where abortion is illegal (Ireland, Poland, Portugal, up to now) is a challenging proposition. Which, of all the hurdles, has been the most difficult to conquer?
RG: Funding. For the past five years I’ve been working for practically nothing, while investing all my time and energy. I’ve made due with alternative side-jobs and a small stipend from the organization.
It is difficult to find a steady stream of donors given the radicalism of WOW. Offering women the abortion pill in countries where the procedure is illegal, from a ship under Dutch flag, anchored in international waters, taking advantage of a legal loophole, is more confrontational than a traditional pro-choice poster campaign. But the effectiveness of one of our campaigns is much greater than a traditional advocacy campaign. When we embark on a campaign, the awareness created through the press and protests around illegal abortions makes a huge impact on the issue.
WOW receives help from volunteers, mostly American and South American women, though some Dutch too, who also reply to about 4,000 emails per year, giving women in need a place to turn to for information. This service needs donors, but doesn’t get sufficient financial support. And that’s very frustrating. However, becoming a grant-writing institution is not my objective either.
JS: Does your organization suffer from what many entrepreneurial ventures have to deal with when they grow—that the founder is not the right person to take it to the next level?
RG: without money, it would be impossible to hire someone else to do my job. I would gladly take a few steps back, but can’t do this without money.
JS: So what’s next for you?
RG: I’m working on the next WOW campaign and continuing to teach women how to perform abortions themselves through the abortion pill. This is both a global (through the web site) and a local initiative, where volunteers distribute stickers to stick everywhere, on bathroom walls and other public spaces, to create awareness of the abortion pill.
On a personal level, I’m thinking about obtaining a PhD on a topic on the intersection of medicine and society, related to what I’ve been doing. I also want to spend more time with my two children.
*It’s common in post-colonial settings that the old laws from the former rulers are still in place. Suriname gained independence from The Netherlands in 1975, and the Dutch legalized abortion in Holland in 1981.
For more information about the individual campaigns and Gompert’s initial motivations, read the Guardian article.
Also see the trailer of Vessel, the documentary being made about WOW.
