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| Spanish pro-choice campaigners set up fake Abortion Travel agency | Spanish pro-choice campaigners set up fake Abortion Travel agency |
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| "Be free in London, from €2,614." "Decide in Paris, from €1,942." "Choose in Berlin, from €2,180." At first glance it's just another online travel agent, until you realise the almost dystopian twist. This is Abortion Travel – "the travel agency that should never exist". | "Be free in London, from €2,614." "Decide in Paris, from €1,942." "Choose in Berlin, from €2,180." At first glance it's just another online travel agent, until you realise the almost dystopian twist. This is Abortion Travel – "the travel agency that should never exist". |
| For now, at least, the business remains a fictional one. Created by CELEM – the Spanish branch of the Women's European Lobby – the website forms part of the group's ongoing campaign against a proposed reform of the country's abortion laws that, if passed, would make them among the most restrictive in Europe. | |
| "Forty years ago in Spain when Franco was ruling, women had to travel to have an abortion," says María Fernández, a spokesperson for CELEM. "We wanted to make a recreation of the past to show what could happen again in the future. If this law goes ahead this kind of business could become a real one." | "Forty years ago in Spain when Franco was ruling, women had to travel to have an abortion," says María Fernández, a spokesperson for CELEM. "We wanted to make a recreation of the past to show what could happen again in the future. If this law goes ahead this kind of business could become a real one." |
| CELEM collaborated with advertising agency to create the mock business, which launched online in April along with a pop-up shop in Madrid that was open for several days. Visitors are invited to enter details such as their week of pregnancy (to establish an appropriate destination owing to the varying legislation around Europe as to how late an abortion may be carried out) and whether the foetus has a malformation, in order find out the approximate costs of a trip abroad to undergo a termination. The site also leads to an online petition that has so far collected more than 40,000 signatures. The petition will be presented to parliament at the end of the month, when politicians are expected to vote on the reforms. | |
| The widely unpopular reforms, which were tabled by the governing People's party (Partido Popular) last December, would make abortion illegal except in the case of rape or if there is a serious risk to the mother's health. Polls suggest they are opposed by up to 80% of the country. | The widely unpopular reforms, which were tabled by the governing People's party (Partido Popular) last December, would make abortion illegal except in the case of rape or if there is a serious risk to the mother's health. Polls suggest they are opposed by up to 80% of the country. |
| "Our goal is for people to realise the democratic backsliding that we are about to experience," says Cristina Rodriguez, the creative director in charge of the campaign. "We want them to see that, aside from the emotional cost involved in termination of pregnancy, there are many other expenses that may have been unnoticed. It's very likely that agencies of this kind (but of course, much more discreet) already exist in other countries, such as Ireland, which don't respect women's right to choose." | "Our goal is for people to realise the democratic backsliding that we are about to experience," says Cristina Rodriguez, the creative director in charge of the campaign. "We want them to see that, aside from the emotional cost involved in termination of pregnancy, there are many other expenses that may have been unnoticed. It's very likely that agencies of this kind (but of course, much more discreet) already exist in other countries, such as Ireland, which don't respect women's right to choose." |
| Indeed, while the proposed reforms in Spain are proving shocking to supporters of women's rights around the world – being described by some as a return to the Middle Ages – having to travel to receive a safe abortion is already a reality in many countries. According to the US-based Center for Reproductive Rights, 26% of all people live in countries where abortion is generally prohibited, and UK government statistics show that in 2012 alone 5,850 women travelled to England and Wales from abroad for an abortion. For many women in Spain, who fought to win access to legal abortion in 1985, the prospect of losing the right now is unthinkable. | Indeed, while the proposed reforms in Spain are proving shocking to supporters of women's rights around the world – being described by some as a return to the Middle Ages – having to travel to receive a safe abortion is already a reality in many countries. According to the US-based Center for Reproductive Rights, 26% of all people live in countries where abortion is generally prohibited, and UK government statistics show that in 2012 alone 5,850 women travelled to England and Wales from abroad for an abortion. For many women in Spain, who fought to win access to legal abortion in 1985, the prospect of losing the right now is unthinkable. |
| "We believe that an agency like this could come into existence," says Rodriguez. "And that is precisely why we must stop it." | "We believe that an agency like this could come into existence," says Rodriguez. "And that is precisely why we must stop it." |