Abortion Mobilities: Travel and Transport as Reproductive Activism in Latin America

Cordelia Freeman , University of Exeter

Abortion is a safe medical procedure but barriers to access have made it unsafe and difficult to obtain for many women around the world. This is particularly true in Latin America where 95% of abortions are unsafe (Zamberlin et al. 2012). In this research project I investigate the barriers to accessing safe abortions in Latin America and the strategies devised to resist them. This will particularly focus on mobility; both of women who travel for abortions and the transportation of abortion medication. Drawing on my research in Chile, Mexico, and Peru this paper will explore how women travel internationally and domestically for abortions, often flouting the law, as well as how networks and individuals access abortion pills in order for people to manage their own reproductivity. This research will reflect on how and whether this travel and transportation is framed as resistance and at whom resistance is directed. This is examined at intersecting scales: the state, health and activist organisations, informal networks, and individuals.

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 Presented in Session P1. Poster Session Fertility, Family and the Life Course