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Activists Used 'Abortion Robots' to Deliver Pills to Women in Northern Ireland


Last Friday Irish citizens voted to repeal the Eighth Amendment to the country’s constitution, making abortion legal. The historic referendum should mean the end of Irish women having to travel long distances to receive abortion care, which had been outlawed even in cases of rape or incest. But it doesn’t help those in Northern Ireland—which is part of the U.K. and the only part that still completely outlaws abortion. Women there are still without access to time-sensitive care, and they’re at risk of being arrested if they seek it. One group of activists has found a rather inventive workaround to this imbalance: robots.

This morning in Belfast, Northern Ireland, representatives from Women on Waves and Women on Web, which provide online information about abortion care, and ROSA Northern Ireland (a socialist feminist activist collective) staged a protest of the laws that had women being arrested and put in jail for ordering abortion pills online. According to a Facebook video of the event, a small robot bearing a white box rolled up to a woman who knelt down to pick up the package it carried. She then pulled out what appears to be a pill and swallowed it, right there on the spot. A report from SkyNews this morning says there was a large police presence at the rally, and that the woman who took a pill was led away for questioning, but protesters intervened and she was not arrested.

The city council of Belfast voted in April to no longer prosecute women who had been arrested for buying abortion pills, the Guardian reports. And a press release sent out ahead of the rally explained that the robot would be operated out of the Netherlands, and thus not in violation of Northern Irish law. Still, this was a onetime event to show the great lengths to which women have to go for necessary health care. As of right now, a Wall-E for reproductive choice is not a permanent part of life on either side of the border.

In the past, Women on Waves sent abortion pills via drone into Ireland in 2016 and Poland in 2015. After the drones touched down, the organization ferried more pills over by boat (drones, like a diminutive robot, can only carry so many, so these were mostly a symbolic act). Either way, getting necessary health care to women by land, air, and sea is a noble cause. Maybe they can come to Mississippi or Louisiana next.

This post has been updated.





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Here's How You Can Help Victims of the Northern California Wildfires


PHOTO: JOSH EDELSON/Getty Images

For nearly a week, devastating wildfires have raged through Northern California, scorching over 212,000 acres of land and displacing more than 20,000 people. At least 31 people have died and over 2,800 homes have been destroyed. Since they began on Sunday, the fires have spread rapidly due to dry conditions and firefights have been working tireless to control the numerous blazes.

“We’re not even close to being out of this emergency,” said Mark Ghilarducci, the director of California’s Office of Emergency Services, on Thursday.

Whether you’re in the region or living elsewhere in the country, there are numerous ways you can help those who have been impacted. Here are a few organizations that are currently providing aid to those affected.

The Napa Valley Community Disaster Relief Fund is accepting donations for those affected by the fires.

The Sonoma County Resilience Fund is accepting donations to provide aid for mid- and long-term needs of those affected by the fires.

From now until October 30, Airbnb is offering free rooms to people displaced by the fires or traveling to Northern California to take part in relief efforts.

The Napa and Sonoma Valley Fire Relief GoFundMe provides support for firefighters who are battling the flames throughout Northern California. Numerous GoFundMe pages have also been created to raise money for both residents and relief workers.

The Jameson Animal Rescue Ranch are accepting donations to help care for both companion and farm animals. Wine Country Animal Lovers is similarly accepting donations and providing resources to evacuated families in Northern California so they can keep their pets with them. The Napa Community Animal Response Team is looking for volunteers to help care for evacuated animals.

The American Red Cross is looking for volunteers who can help evacuees.

The San Francisco clothing shop Love on Haight is giving away free clothes.

Yuba County, Sonoma County, and Napa County food pantries are all currently accepting donations.



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