On March 6th at 10:30 p.m. on ORF 2
Vienna (OTS) – There are still countries in Europe where women are not allowed to terminate an unwanted pregnancy or where access to it is increasingly restricted. Abortion opponents, right-wing conservative parties and religious groups are organizing across Europe and trying to undermine the right to abortion. As part of the ORF program focus on International Women’s Day (details at presse.ORF.at), the “WELTjournal” will show the report “Women’s Rights – My Body, My Decision” on ORF 2 on Wednesday, March 6, 2024 at 10:30 p.m.
The “WELTjournal” reports on examples from Poland, Malta and Italy where private associations and courageous doctors help women in need and take a high risk in the process. A Polish activist, for example, faces three years in prison for giving a woman the abortion pill. In Malta, where abortion is banned even if the woman’s life is in danger, female doctors risk not only facing draconian prison sentences but also losing their license. Although abortions are legal in Italy, under pressure from the church and the right, 70 percent of doctors now refuse abortions for reasons of conscience. The Dutch activist and doctor Rebecca Gomperts offers hope and help for women in emergency situations: She founded the organization “Women on Web”, which prescribes and sends abortion pills. And she founded Women on Waves, a mobile abortion clinic on a ship where abortions can be legally performed in international waters.