My reporting from my recent trip to Rwanda aired on NPR’s All Things Considered over the Labor Day weekend.
I wanted to take a quick moment to share that story and some reflections.
The piece describes the experiences of several women who were imprisoned for abortion-related crimes, in some cases for years at a time. Rwanda has been gradually liberalizing its abortion laws for more than a decade, and in recent years that effort has included pardoning and releasing hundreds of women who were jailed for inducing their own abortions.
This was one of the most complex pieces I’ve worked on, in part because of barriers of language, culture, and geography. I’m grateful to the United Nations Foundation for a press fellowship that allowed me to travel to Rwanda in July; to Health Development Initiative (HDI) Rwanda, the NGO that connected me with these women; and to my interpreter, Brenda, a human rights attorney at HDI and a wonderful human being who immediately became my friend as we spent two days together listening to these stories.
I’m most of all grateful to the women who shared their lives, including their pain, with me and with our listeners. Their stories have stayed with me, and will for a very long time.
At a time when the United States is experiencing a massive rollback of abortion rights, when some patients are already facing criminal consequences for their pregnancy decisions and outcomes, and when some lawmakers and advocates are openly debating whether or not women should be punished for abortion, these stories feel especially relevant.
Very meaningful story. Keep up the great reporting!
You have tremendous courage as well as intelligence and tenacity!!! Bravo.