Zentrum für interdisziplinäre Forschung

The workshop "Translocal Networks for Self-Managed Abortion in the Americas, Africa and Europe", which took place between 15 and 17 of January at ZiF, brought together researchers and activists working on feminist self-managed abortion to discuss the legal, health and cultural dimensions of this practice. Self-managed abortion is “the self-sourcing of abortion medicines (mifepristone and misoprostol, or misoprostol alone) followed by self-use of the medicines including self-management of the abortion process outside of a clinical context” (Erdman, Jelinska & Yanow 2018). Across the world and for almost two decades now, feminist activist networks have organized different strategies, such as hotlines and accompaniment, to support people to self-manage their abortions.

The first session of the workshop was dedicated to listening and learning from the activist networks represented at the workshop. There were participants from Red Compañera, in Latin America and the Caribbean, MAMA Network, in Africa, and Abortion Without Borders, in Europe. They discussed their strategies, the most pressing issues in their contexts and how they have been involved in different forms of knowledge production. Then, the researchers in the room spoke about how they came to this issue and their relationship with activism. An important question that emerged from this session is the recurrent binary distinction between activism and research, which several of the participants challenged by either highlighting how activists, in this field, have long been producing cutting-edge and socially relevant research, or identifying themselves as researcher-activists.

(All photos: Universität Bielefeld/P. Ottendörfer)

Participants then turned to examining law. Self-managed abortion, as a bundle of practices, actors and spaces, is affected by many other legal texts than only those regulating abortion. Looking at the present, participants asked how laws and regulations are both a risk and a resource for feminist self-managed abortion activism. Both activists and the people whom they support are subjected to the risks imposed by, for example, criminal laws, and the limitations imposed by laws regulating access to healthcare and medicines. However, law can also be a resource as, for example, is the case in Argentina, where the national accompaniment network Socorristas en Red has been involved in strategies to ensure that people can indeed benefit from the dignified abortion care ensured by the new abortion law. Looking at the future and having in mind particularly countries that have legalized abortion, participants asked themselves how self-managed abortion activism should relate to law: Seek accommodation within legal frameworks? Pursue reforms that are non-reformist? Reject the law, either as a transgressive move or as part of a prefigurative politics? While the time was short to answer all these important questions, the discussion made it clear that law is a central field and instrument for self-managed abortion activisms.

The workshop also included a session dedicated to discussing how activist organizations and movements engage with health institutions and healthcare professionals. These organizations promote models aimed at demedicalization—that is, care models that do not require a clinical setting or the assistance of medical professionals. In fact, this activism support access to self-managed abortions by providing practical assistance, emotional support, and reliable information on how to use medication. Some of the discussions in this session focused on reflecting on the challenges these practices pose to medical authority, which seeks to maintain absolute control over abortion. Also, there were conversations about the opportunities for collaborations and synergies with professionals and institutions within the formal healthcare system.

Next, a workshop session was dedicated to reflecting on culture and cultural norms surrounding abortion. Much of the discussion focused on the problem of stigma and recognizing the work of organizations in challenging the notion that abortion is a morally reprehensible act associated with negative stereotypes. In this context, SMA activism considers culture a key field of contestation. In some cases, activists create cultural productions that counter the negative imagery generated by the anti-choice movement. They also strive to produce more generative meanings around abortion. During the session, participants were invited to engage in conversations about various symbols, images, slogans, and performances from the movement that aim to create stigma-free narratives.

The final session focused on building visions for the future. The collective discussion highlighted the importance of continuing to nurture these spaces for collaboration between scholars and activists, where powerful synergies and new ways of producing knowledge emerge.