28 September is known globally as International Safe Abortion Day — but here at Supporting Abortions for Everyone we like to think of it as international SAFE abortion day. 😊 The theme of the official day this year is Unstoppable Movement: Movement building, solidarity, and justice for the right to safe abortion. It will use the hashtags #UnstoppableMovement and #AbortionSolidarity. Of course, if you are reading this newsletter, you believe in safe (SAFE) abortion every day, as do we.
We wanted to talk a bit about what this day means to us. In past years, a focus on the official day was the idea that “You can’t stop abortions, you can only stop safe abortions” with a focus on the numbers of women who die each year from unsafe abortions. These days, however, abortion pills exist (Abortion Pills Forever!!) and the numbers of people dying from unsafe abortions is going down as a result. We as a movement are focused more on the safety of abortion pills and empowering people to have the power to manage their own abortions.
We very much support and encourage the medical community, especially those doctors and providers who are helping with abortions after 12 weeks. But at SAFE, we know that many abortions around the world are happening because individuals and activists, tired of waiting for governments and states and doctors to permit us to access our rights, are forming networks of solidarity and love and radical compassion to ensure that anyone who wants or needs an abortion can have one.
SAFE is part of Abortion Without Borders, nine grassroots organizations helping people get the abortions that states across Europe are failing to provide. Eight of the groups in Abortion Without Borders are helping people get abortions, and SAFE is doing our best to support the other eight organizations.
For us, SAFE means many things. It means abortion is safe. Abortion pills are safe. Abortion activists and people having abortions need to be kept safe – from criminalization, from data breaches, from burnout. We want to keep everyone involved in ensuring abortion access SAFE, SUPPORTED and CONNECTED.
International Safe Abortion Day comes but once a year, but here at SAFE it’s always abortion day. We invite you to support SAFE help the helpers to ensure every person in Europe who wants an abortion can get one.
TOGETHER in solidarity, we are UNSTOPPABLE