Mini-conference: 40 years of abortion legislation in the Netherlands

Legal abortion access and provision cannot be taken for granted. While some states have made abortion illegal again today, there are also states that – on the contrary – ensure this right by putting it into their constitution. Histories of legal abortion and journeys towards it matter and they need to be remembered and acknowledged.

1 November 2024 marks 40 years since abortion was legislated in the Netherlands. However, it is still debatable if it can be seen as fully legislated. This mini-conference aims to bring into a conversation the historical and contemporary perspectives on abortion legalisation, abortion travel, abortion care and activism in the Netherlands and internationally.

Please sign up before 30 October 2024, by clicking the link below:

Programme

12.30 - 1 p.m.: Registration and coffee
1 - 2.30 p.m.: Keynote Rebecca Gomperts (Women on Waves), response by Trudy Dehue (UG)
2.30 - 3 p.m.: Coffeebreak
3 - 4 p.m.: Parallel roundtable discussions

Roundtable 1: "Legal abortion and activism"
Interventions by: Ireen Dubel (UvA), Fleur van Leeuwen (ATRIA) and Yuliya Hilevych (UG)

Roundtable 2: "Menstruation, abortion, and care"
Interventions by: Marlyse Debergh (UvA/University of Fribourg), Rodante van der Waal (University for Humanistic Studies), and Catrien Santing (UG)

4 - 4.15 p.m.: Break
4.15 - 5 p.m.: Concluding discussion “Legacies of legal abortion”
5 - 6 p.m.: Drinks

If you have any questions, please get in touch with the organisers: Yuliya Hilevych (y.o.hilevych rug.nl), Karen Hollewand (k.e.hollewand rug.nl) or Hanneke de Boer (h.e.h.de.boer rug.nl).