Repeating Histories is a new short film about the collaboration between Irish and Spanish pro-choice activists in London from the 1980’s until the present day.
The film highlights the dire situation of reproductive justice in present-day Spain and Ireland. In particular:
- - the highly regressive anti-choice legislation moving through Spanish parliament this summer (http://mybellyismine.wordpress.com/20…).
- the recent severe criticisms by the UN Human Rights Committee regarding the state of reproductive justice in the Republic of Ireland (http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politi…).
- the recent English High Court ruling which blocked women in the north of Ireland from obtaining abortions under the NHS in England (http://www.theguardian.com/commentisf…).
In the film, the present day activities of grassroots collectives like My Belly is Mine, Speaking of I.M.E.L.D.A. and London Irish Feminist Network (https://twitter.com/LIrishFemNetw) are introduced in the context of a discussion by two women, Ann Rossiter (from Ireland) and Isabel Ros López (from Spain), who have been pro-choice activists in London since the 1980’s. The film charts the work of two organizations set up at this time, the Irish Women’s Abortion Support Group (IWASG) and the Spanish Women’s Abortion Support Group (SWASG). These organizations provided information and practical support to thousands of Spanish and Irish women who were forced to travel to London to obtain safe and legal abortions.
As emphasized in the film, the current situation is ‘Groundhog Day for Irish women and Déjà Vu for Spanish women’. IWASG currently exists in the form of the Abortion Support Network (https://www.abortionsupport.org.uk/) and ‘Version 2.0’ of SWASG has recently been set up in London as the Red Federica Montseny (RFM) network (http://mybellyismine.wordpress.com/20…). RFM aims to be ready to assist Spanish women who may be forced, once again, to travel to London if the current anti-choice legislation is passed by the Spanish parliament. In this way, RFM is the heartbreakingly real version of the fake ‘Abortion Travel Agency’ set up as an awareness-raising initiative by pro-choice activists in Spain earlier this year (http://www.theguardian.com/world/shor…).
The Repeating Histories film ends with a call for action to secure reproductive justice for Spanish and Irish women. Spanish and Irish pro-choice activists in London stand in solidarity with women around the world whose right to reproductive autonomy is trampled upon. Indeed, even women in England have been forced to feel far from complacent regarding the status of reproductive justice in their country, following David Cameron’s appointment of the anti-choice politician, Nicky Morgan, as Women’s Minister in April this year (http://stavvers.wordpress.com/2014/04…).
Repeating Histories is a new short film about the collaboration between Irish and Spanish pro-choice activists in London from the 1980’s until the present day. The film highlights the dire situation of reproductive justice in present-day Spain and Ireland. In particular:
- - the highly regressive anti-choice legislation moving through Spanish parliament this summer (http://mybellyismine.wordpress.com/20…).
- the recent severe criticisms by the UN Human Rights Committee regarding the state of reproductive justice in the Republic of Ireland (http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politi…).
- the recent English High Court ruling which blocked women in the north of Ireland from obtaining abortions under the NHS in England (http://www.theguardian.com/commentisf…).
In the film, the present day activities of grassroots collectives like My Belly is Mine, Speaking of I.M.E.L.D.A. and London Irish Feminist Network (https://twitter.com/LIrishFemNetw) are introduced in the context of a discussion by two women, Ann Rossiter (from Ireland) and Isabel Ros López (from Spain), who have been pro-choice activists in London since the 1980’s. The film charts the work of two organizations set up at this time, the Irish Women’s Abortion Support Group (IWASG) and the Spanish Women’s Abortion Support Group (SWASG). These organizations provided information and practical support to thousands of Spanish and Irish women who were forced to travel to London to obtain safe and legal abortions.
As emphasized in the film, the current situation is ‘Groundhog Day for Irish women and Déjà Vu for Spanish women’. IWASG currently exists in the form of the Abortion Support Network (https://www.abortionsupport.org.uk/) and ‘Version 2.0’ of SWASG has recently been set up in London as the Red Federica Montseny (RFM) network (http://mybellyismine.wordpress.com/20…). RFM aims to be ready to assist Spanish women who may be forced, once again, to travel to London if the current anti-choice legislation is passed by the Spanish parliament. In this way, RFM is the heartbreakingly real version of the fake ‘Abortion Travel Agency’ set up as an awareness-raising initiative by pro-choice activists in Spain earlier this year (http://www.theguardian.com/world/shor…).
The Repeating Histories film ends with a call for action to secure reproductive justice for Spanish and Irish women. Spanish and Irish pro-choice activists in London stand in solidarity with women around the world whose right to reproductive autonomy is trampled upon. Indeed, even women in England have been forced to feel far from complacent regarding the status of reproductive justice in their country, following David Cameron’s appointment of the anti-choice politician, Nicky Morgan, as Women’s Minister in April this year (http://stavvers.wordpress.com/2014/04…).
Watch at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vDIpzxPGsI
Or in Spanish at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fcvNG67-VM
HERitage stall this Saturday 29th January at St Cuthbert's hall, Amble. Come along, see you there