My Body, My Choice!

As right-wing conservative and nationalist movements gain strength worldwide, women's hard-won rights to reproductive self-determination are increasingly under attack. The most recent example is Poland, where the supreme court has de facto abolished the right to abortion. Abortion is now made a punishable offense, even in the event of severe malformations of the embryo. However, the impressive protests in Poland and the many feminist movements worldwide give hope. One of the most successful protest movements in recent years is the Irish campaign "Together for Yes". In 2018 in Ireland, it overturned one of Europe’s most restrictive abortion laws. Campaigns like "Women on Web" also try to support women worldwide in their struggle for self-determination.

Together with renowned European activists and experts, we want to talk about the situation in Europe - especially in Poland and Ireland - and discuss strategies for reproductive justice and women's rights: What lessons can we learn from the different campaigns? What possibilities exist for action? And how can we Europeans act in national and transnational solidarity?

With:

• Elzbieta Korolczuk, Polish sociologist, cultural scientist and human rights activist, Poland
• Dominika Kasprowicz, Polish Women's Strike Initiative, Poland
• Orla O'Connor, Co-Director of "Together for Yes" and Director of the National Women's Council of Ireland, Ireland
• Rebecca Gomperts, medical doctor and founder of Women on Waves and Women on Web, Netherlands

Moderation: Franziska Brantner, European policy spokeswoman for Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, Germany
Greeting: Ellen Ueberschär, Executive Board, Heinrich Böll Foundation, Germany

This is the inaugural event of the feminist collaborative "Europe's powerful Women" series, supported by the Foundation Women in Europe / TuWas Stiftung für Gemeinsinn

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