New Abortion-Education App Provides Help To Women Worldwide

Abortion rights are a serious issue which affects women around the world, but can something as impersonal as technology bring like-minded women the help that they need?  Now, thanks to a new app, a notable organization thinks that they can help those women when society won't...

(Image courtesy umbc.edu.)

According to Vice magazine, a support and education network called Women On The Web is an internet-based group that offers embattled women more opportunities than what their nations or circumstances would allow.  Their new app, Safe Abortion With Pills, is a resource for women who want to terminate a pregnancy but do not have access to a medically-safe means of doing so.

"What you can do is select a country and a language, and then you get information on the law in the country," explained Dr. Rebecca Gomperts, who had previously offered abortion advice to women via email. "You get information on which brands of {abortion pill} misoprostol you can buy, about fakes and other organizations, and there's an animation about how to do a medical abortion with misoprostol."

Dr. Gompert's Women On The Web organization has been in operation since 2006, and have sent pills to women in 130 countries (their website operates in 15 languages.) This summer, they're even pondering using a drone to deliver pills to remote or dangerous regions.

Is it wrong to call it the Anti-Stork?
(Image courtesy wired.co.uk.)

Considering that women can be beaten, jailed, or murdered regarding this particular choice for their bodies, it's important to give power back to the ladies who don't want their wombs occupied, for whatever reason. The decision is the childbearer's right to make, and this online network of women are willing to share their stories to show they're not wrong, lesser, or evil for making this critical decision.

Women On The Web's encouragement of women to share their abortion stories also works as a means of removing the social stigma from the act, and they maintain a world map of where the stories occur. The technology transposes a human touch to an issue faced by women the world over, lending direly-needed care and advice to women during their difficult situations.

The Safe Abortion With Pills app is soon to be completed and released for free on iTunes, but currently exists on Google Play. For those to whom maintaining their sexual health means risking their lives, this could be a safe and educational way to offer an answer.

Good teamwork, ladies.
(Image courtesy rjfs.org.)