Abortion Drone

• 2016

On 27 June 2015, the Women on Waves activists flew an unmanned “abortion drone” during its maiden flight from Frankfurt on the Oder in Germany to Słubice in Poland. Its cargo was miscarriage pills. At present, abortion is legal throughout the European Union, with the exception of Poland and Malta. In both these countries, abortion is criminalised despite numerous protests by women and citizens and calls from the European Parliament to ensure women’s universal access to safe and legal abortion. Women who cannot count on medical help are forced to carry out abortion procedures outside the health care system, e.g. using drugs that often reach Poland through foreign organisations and women’s collectives. The photograph comes from the series “ON ABORTION: And the Repercussions of Lack of Access“, which is part of the long-term project “A History of Misogyny“.