Reproductive rights

ENSU has launched an appeal for 28 September - international day for abortion rights. We want to highlight the situation in Ukraine and in the countries where Ukrainian women and girls have taken refugee, in the context of Russian imperialism and its authoritarian agenda for women, as well as the worldwide attacks on women’s rights to control our own bodies.

Our open letter (English, Polski français, castellano, ελληνικά) is an invitation to launch coordinated activities across Europe. Please contact us (at info@ukraine-solidarity.eu) if you want to get involved in this campaign.

This initiative builds on ENSU’s earlier petition on reproductive rights (read it here, sign here, check the list of individual signatures here and the list of organisations supporting the petition here.

Reproductive rights are under threat in the countries where Ukrainian women and girls have taken refugee from the Russian invaders. Despite a massive civic mobilisation, and against the wishes of most Poles, legal abortion is virtually impossible. In Slovakia and Hungary, regulations are increasingly restrictive, and many clinics are no longer offering abortion services.

Ultraconservative and religious extremists across Eastern Europe receive funding and advice from far-right groups abroad. As our friends in Levice (CZ) report below, “pro-life” activists are even campaigning against those Czech groups that are working to deliver abortion services (’morning after’ pills) and contraceptives to women’s groups in Ukraine.

Polish feminists and left groups like Razem are campaigning for change in Polish law. There are solidarity networks making abortion services accessible in Ukraine and Poland, and helping some women travel to Czechia, Germany, Slovakia and other countries for treatment. The following selection of articles reports on the challenges they face, as well as the opportunities for greater solidarity.

Please contact our feminist working group if you want to get involved in our solidarity with Ukrainian and Polish feminists and feminist anti-war activists in Russia and Belarus

From the USA to Ukraine, feminist solidarity is more urgent than ever!