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In public health discussions and political debates around abortion, women’s own experiences often get lost. Ipas is committed to improving women’s ability to exercise their sexual and reproductive rights. As part of that effort, we have created a YouTube page featuring documentaries, public service announcements and behind-the-scenes videos to allow anyone with an Internet connection to learn about reproductive health issues from women around the world.
Newly updated with additional videos and English subtitles for Spanish-language videos, Ipas’s page features videos from Nicaragua, Brazil, India, Ireland, Mexico, Argentina and Ethiopia. The site will be updated regularly in order to be an ongoing resource for the public, advocates and educators.
Videos now available on Ipas’s YouTube page include:
• Two clips from “Aborto Sin Pena,” a 2007 documentary about three women who received clandestine abortions in Mexico City before abortion there was legalized.
• “Life, a Right of all Women,” a 15-minute documentary produced by Ipas and partners in 2007, that examines Nicaragua’s recent decision to ban abortion. This short film features interviews with internationally respected obstetrician-gynecologists, human-rights experts, and the sister of a woman who died after the law took effect.
• “Think about it,” a public service announcement produced by Ipas Brazil that asks Brazilian passers-by on the street about their feelings about abortion.
• A two-minute clip from “Like a Ship in the Night,” a documentary that tells the story of three women who dealt with Ireland's restrictive laws by traveling to England to receive abortions.
• The trailer for the short documentary “Not Yet Rain,” directed by Lisa Russell and produced by Ipas. “Not Yet Rain” explores abortion in Ethiopia through the voices of women who have faced the challenge of finding safe care (the full version of “Not Yet Rain” is available online at www.notyetrain.org).
• A five-part video documenting a street drama outreach program created by Ipas India. In this video, trained actors use sketches, singing and dancing to raise awareness about medical abortion to a rural village in eastern India.
The stories of all these women are different, but they all share a fundamental truth. Unsafe abortion has devastating consequences. Whether the underlying cause is restrictive laws, a shortage of equipped health centers, a lack of knowledge that safe services are available, or something else entirely, unsafe abortion kills 67,000 women a year and injures even more. While progressive laws have recently been implemented in Mexico City, Ethiopia, and other locations, Nicaragua and other countries have recently implemented restrictive laws that endanger women’s lives, health, and basic human rights.
For more information, contact media@ipas.org