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Abortion' boat creating waves

Women on Waves' offers free, legal abortions till nine weeks.

Dutch sailing boat offering abortions, often in defiance of some country’s laws, arrived in international waters off Mexico on Saturday, the organisation crewing it said.

The “Women on Waves” vessel was expelled from near Guatemala in February without carrying out a single pregnancy termination. It had taken up position off Guerrero state, on Mexico’’ Pacific coast.

The “Women on Waves” group said in an online statement that it was offering “free legal medical abortions till nine weeks of pregnancy” to women who needed them. It said its ship “has all required permits” and would receive women until Sunday.

It noted that Mexico permitted abortions in cases of sexual violence. Abortion is limited in other cases to different degrees across the 31 Mexican states.

The Dutch group has previously sent its ship to waters off Ireland, Poland, Portugal and Spain. Women on Waves aims to prevent unsafe abortions and make sure women have access to medical abortion.

On board the Dutch boat, women are given abortion pills and they remain under observation for a few hours before returning to shore on small vessels.

( Source : AFP )
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