Self-managed abortion

Self-managed

Abortion

Movements

Ava Jones Gabriella Gentile Lucija Macanović

Social Movements Studies | 24/03/2026

Start

[ Ava Jones ]

What is

SMA

Self-managed abortion

A series of action or activities

undertaken by a pregnant person

to end said pregnancy

outside of a clinical setting

[ Ava Jones ]

Abortion pills

Increasing use of medical abortion (MA) worldwide

wide

Key drugs:

Misoprostol & Mifepristone

Allowing

More privacy

More autonomy

Safe self-management when used correctly

Reducing abortion related risks and mortality worldwide

[ Ava Jones ]

Advancement of

Telemedicine

&

Abortion related

access

Especially prominent during COVID-19 pandemic

Pills-by-post introduced in countries like:

UK, France, Belgium, India, Colombia, ...

Remote consultation

Delivery of medication in a safe manner

[ Ava Jones ]

Rise of

SMA

Growing acceptance

Increased access

in countries without restrictions on medical abortion

Shift away from heavily medicalised models

Seen more and more as:

Safe (with correct information)

Autonomy-focused

Person-centred care

[ Ava Jones ]

Actors

&

Support systems

Enabling safe and accessible SMA

Locally (community networks)

Nationally (NGOs, health systems)

Transnationally (cross-border organisations)

European Safe Abortion Networking Group

[ Ava Jones ]

From "unsafe"

to "self-care"

Reframement of SMA

More person-centred understanding of care

Supported by:

Access to accurate information

Safer use of medical abortion (MA)

[ Ava Jones ]

Gaps

in abortion related

healthcare:

Restrictions, laws, overburdened systems

Causes

Restrictive abortion laws

Overburdened/underfunded health systems

Strain from the COVID-19 pandemic

Strict restrictions to abortion care

US, Poland

As a result...

Limited or no access to comprehensive

sexual & reproductive healthcare

&

[ Ava Jones ]

Individual

collective care

Actors enabling access to SMA

Hotlines, feminist networks

Pharmacists, community health workers

Cross-border support systems

Friends, partners, family

Providing information, access and guidance through the process

...while facing risks to their livehoods

Abortion access is shaped by a network, "an archipelago" of care and support

despite legal restrictions

[ Gabriella Gentile ]

Which

actors

Enabling

Restricting

Support groups and hotlines

Anti-abortion movements

Feminist movements

Individuals with stigmatic beliefs

Community health workers

2022's protests in San Francisco following the overturn of Roe v. Wade

2022's March for Life

[ Gabriella Gentile ]

Socorristas

en Red

Feministas y transfeministas que abortamos

Case study in Argentina

Purpose

Otherwise...

Information and counselling

Misinformation

Physical support

Unsafe methods

SMA and post-SMA care

Health complications

Psychological care

Isolation

Legal support

Protests

Shared goals with other feminist networks

[ Gabriella Gentile ]

The role of

Internet

self-managed abortion

2x

More than

research on abortion pills

Further pushed by the COVID-19 pandemic

Granting a free, safe and private space

Importance of reliable information

spread by support groups

[ Gabriella Gentile ]

Myths

Dangerous influence

Consequences

of actors against access to SMA

Distorsion of safe trajectories

AND holding stigma against it

Jeopardised efforts of support hotlines

Spreading false information

Health risks

Blocking support resources

Advertising misleading services

Crisis pregnancy centers

Through...

Religious fundings and propaganda

Pressure on fears

Feminist language

Use of Internet

[ Gabriella Gentile ]

Every action

@AbortionOnOurOwnTerms

matters.

Help of individuals in specific contexts

Gathering reliable information

Intermediaries

Retrieving drugs for SMA treatment

Illegal trade of pills

Legal, social, physical and psychological risks

&

[ Lucija Macanović ]

its laws

SMA

Risk of prosecution and imprisonment

for both those who self-manage and those who support them

Criminalisation of SMA

Uruguay and South Africa

Prosecution of support networks

Ireland and New Zealand

Criminalisation of support networks

Rwanda

Prosecution of women ordering pills for their daughters

US and Northern Ireland

Consequences

Further stigma, restricted information and medicine access

Healthcare workers refuse care or call police

Abortion perceived as criminal at all times

NGOs raided, activists harassed

Social and health risks

[ Lucija Macanović ]

UK's post COVID-19 guidelines

Abortion

Telemedicine consultation

care

with a registered medical practitioner

Receive MA pills by post

and use them at home

Use of telemedicine in feminist groups

Las Comadres | Case study in Ecuador

Con las amigas y en casa | Case study in Chile

Protests in Ireland raided by local police

[ Lucija Macanović ]

Double

standards

vs

Informal support systems

Formal laws and guidelines

Identical care, different response

Nevertheless...

Laws promoting misinformation

Laws clashing with scientific evidence

Options for "reversal" of MA

Laws supporting harassment

Who exactly are we legitimising,

and why

[ Lucija Macanović ]

Paths for a

simpler SMA

First step: recognising feminist groups' efforts

Goal: providing abortion

in simpler, less medicalized ways

that center women's needs

Options

Pioneering work of hotlines

Web-based services

Feminist networks

[ Lucija Macanović ]

A safe

space

for innovation, hope and joy

1980s: Brazilian researchers discovered

misoprostol as an abortifacient

2020s: Abortion Without Borders coalition

In the future...?

All thanks to that constellation of actors.

Thanks!

Ava Jones Gabriella Gentile Lucija Macanović

Social Movements Studies | 24/03/2026

Sexual and Reproductive Health matters.