X-ile Project, Ireland

X-ile project is an ongoing online gallery of women* who have accessed abortion services outside of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Our objective is to give a much-needed face to women* who have effectively been exiled and ignored due to unduly restrictive and oppressive abortion laws. Our gallery demonstrates that those who choose to travel to have an abortion are responsible, ordinary women and are members of our communities, X-ile Project is changing the nature of conversations around abortion from the grassroots up. We believe that abortion rights and the corresponding discussions should be led by the women affected, not by politicians.

In recent times several women have come forward through various media outlets to share their abortion stories. X-ile Project builds on the important work undertaken by such women. We believe that it is vital to strengthen links between women who have travelled for abortion services, and to present such women as one cohesive group and as members of our community. Our website launched on 10 December 2015 with our first group of 11 photographs. Our second group of photographs was launched on 23 February 2016. The third group of photographs was launched on 9 June 2016. We continue to seek participants for our online gallery into the foreseeable future.

It is the time to confront the abortion issue in Ireland and Northern Ireland, and to build toward a more progressive future where women are heard, respected, valued and trusted. We are committed to the destigmatisation of abortion in Ireland. We stand firmly in support of the 160,000+ documented women who have travelled to avail of abortion services.

X-ile Project is proud to be a member of the Coalition to Repeal the 8th Amendment. Repealing the 8th Amendment is vital for all women in Ireland who require abortion services, especially women who cannot travel for various reasons including lack of means, migrant or refugee status, disability, or personal circumstances.

X-ile Project is a grassroots organisation that runs on an entirely volunteer basis and is not funded by any outside organisation.

*X-ile Project is inclusive of trans men and non binary people.

The Abortion Diary Podcast

• The Abortion Diary creates a safe and supportive environment for all people to share their personal, unmediated abortion experiences and the complex decision making process surrounding the choice to have an abortion.
• We are interrupting the narrative of abortion storytelling by moving the conversation out of the political realm and into the personal realm in order to decrease isolation and build community for people who have had abortion experiences.
• Create connection and community building amongst people who have had abortion experiences. We are healing each other by sharing our stories.
• We rely on human connection. There is always someone listening in person while the story-sharer is sharing their experience. When was the last time you felt listened to by someone?
• The Abortion Diary also creates safe spaces, gatherings and workshops; transforming the act of sharing and listening to the podcast to creating connection and community.
• The Abortion Diary is the only publicly accessible audio collection of abortion stories.

They post one new story on the website every Tuesday. You can stream the stories on our website (under theabortion stories tab) or listen to the stories on SoundCloud, iTunes, Stitcher Radio, and ivoox. On the Voices We Hear page of our website you can view the photos of some of the people (or sometimes their objects and pets) who have shared their story with the podcast. The Multimedia page provides a space for other ways of sharing our stories.

Rosa's Story

Abortion Diary Entry 133: Rosa, 34 (Liverpool, England 2007)

Rosa shares her story of needing to travel to England from Northern Ireland for an abortion. Abortion is illegal in Northern Ireland.

For more information about the abortion rights campaign in Northern Ireland, visithttp://www.alliance4choice.com.

(Published on June 7, 2016 | Listener: Melissa Madera | Location: Lisburn, Northern Ireland)

S.M's story

Abortion Diary Entry 134: S.M., 38 (Belfast, Northern Ireland 2007)

S.M. discusses becoming a young mother while in college, and shares her experiences with miscarriage and seeking an abortion in Northern Ireland, where abortion is illegal, after a diagnosis of Spina Bifida.

(Published on June 14, 2016 | Listener: Melissa Madera | Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland)