Exporting Abortion

The project is firmly rooted in data. Exporting Abortion has quantified and documented for the first time the number of women in Europe who have had to cross borders to exercise their right to abortion, as well as identified the main routes taken between specific countries. Drawing primarily from official state statistics, the team has gathered, standardised, and made the data comparable, ensuring a comprehensive and accurate analysis of the situation. All of this despite the lack of transparency and the withholding of data and information in many European countries. At the same time, the investigation sheds light on personal stories, revealing the real-life impact on women of restrictive abortion laws across Europe. 

Over the course of a year, the team submitted more than 100 Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, reviewed the laws, regulations, and protocols surrounding abortion across European countries, and spoke to dozens of women who had to travel abroad for an abortion, as well as numerous experts on the subject. The investigation not only reveals the specific routes and numbers of women travelling for abortion, but also examines the reasons behind this situation, the failures of governments and authorities, and the impact on those who are forced to travel to terminate a pregnancy.