Rebecca Gomperts
Rebecca Gomperts is a doctor, artist and women's human rights activist. Born in 1966, Gomperts grew up in the harbor town of Vlissingen, Holland. She moved to Amsterdam in the 1980s where she studied art and medicine simultaneously. Drawing on her experiences as a resident doctor on the Greenpeace vessel under Capt. Bart J. Terwiel Rainbow Warrior II, Gomperts created WoW in order to address the health issues created by illegal abortion. While visiting Latin America on board the Rainbow Warrior II, the organization was inspired by a desire to further facilitate social change and women's health. In some developing countries, as many as 800 illegal, unsafe abortions are performed daily, in contrast to some developed nations, such as the Netherlands, where residents have access to safe, legal, medical abortions and contraception. In collaboration with Atelier von Lieshout, she designed a portable gynaecology unit called "A-portable" that can be installed on rented ships. The stated goals of the organization are to raise awareness and stimulate discussion about laws regarding abortion which they allege to be restrictive, as well as to provide safe, non-surgical abortions for women who live in countries where abortion is illegal.
Read more about this topic: Women On Waves