Between Them and Us - Stories about Abortions II (Stories narrated by La Revuelta feminist abortionist activists) 1

Traduccin / Translated by
Viviana Fonseca

Edicin de los textos en ingls / English texts edited by

Roco Romero Catal

Diseo / Designed by
Valeria Jelinski

Coordinacin / Coordinated by
Beln Grosso and Ruth Zurbriggen

Produccin: La Revuelta Colectiva Feminista

Produced by the feminist collective La Revuelta

Neuqun Patagonia Argentina

www.larevuelta.com.ar
Facebook: La Revuelta Colectiva Feminista
54-299-154722618

2 Entre ellas y nosotras: los abortos II (Relatos de activistas feministas revueltas aborteras)
Entre ellas y nosotras: los abortos II
(Relatos de activistas feministas revueltas aborteras)

Between Them and Us - Stories about Abortions II

(Stories narrated by La Revuelta feminist abortionist activists)

Desde haca un tiempo soaba con zapatos rosas.

Todos eran diferentes y ninguno tena par.
Eran zapatos solitarios y siempre rosas.
Cuando despert, son el celular. Del otro lado una voz titubeante:
Hola, necesito su ayuda.
Ella saba que la respuesta estaba en su memoria.
Saba que cada zapato rosa encontraba su par en la voz titubeante
que estaba del otro lado del telfono.

For a long time now, she had been having the same dream about pink shoes.
They were all dierent extra shoes.
These were lonely shoes and they were always pink.
When she woke up, her mobile rang. It was a halting voice:
Hello! I need your help.
She knew the answer was in her mind.
She knew that each pink shoe was going to find its pair in those halting voices
on the other side of the telephone.

Between Them and Us - Stories about Abortions II (Stories narrated by La Revuelta feminist abortionist activists) 3
4 Entre ellas y nosotras: los abortos II (Relatos de activistas feministas revueltas aborteras)
 E ste material rene dos relatos escritos por activistas de la Colectiva Feminista La Revuelta. Una
colectiva de la ciudad de Neuqun, Patagonia Argentina, que postula un hacer activista transfronterizo.
As es que en el ao 2012 impulsamos la conformacin articulatoria de Socorristas en Red (feministas que
abortamos), red que rene en la actualidad a una treintena de colectivas de Argentina que damos informacin
y acompaamos los derroteros de los abortos con medicamentos de mujeres y personas con capacidad de
gestar que acuden a nosotrxs.

En marzo de 2015, presentamos Entre ellas y nosotras: los abortos. A diferencia del actual, reuna relatos
de socorristas de distintos lugares geogrficos de Argentina. Fueron compilados para el simposio, Narrativas
sobre Experiencias Corpo-Abortadoras, organizado como parte de las Jornadas de Historia de las Mujeres
desarrolladas en la Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Esos relatos pueden leerse en www.comunicarigualdad.
com.ar

Surge ahora Entre ellas y nosotras: los abortos II, la excusa preciosa para circular estos escritos, por primera
vez en dos idiomas, es el Encuentro Global de Lneas Telefnicas de Informacin sobre Aborto, organizado
por las activistas de Samsara, a realizarse en Bali, Indonesia, en el mes de mayo de 2016, del que participarn
feministas de 15 organizaciones de Asia, frica y Amrica Latina, entre ellas una activista de La Revuelta.

Aborto libre y feminista en todo el mundo!

Viva la vida y, mejor, viva la vida activista feminista!

Las Revueltas, en el otoo de 2016 en Neuqun1.

1 Las fotos de Entre ellas y nosotras: los abortos, forman parte de un proyecto creativo ms amplio desplegado por
tres activistas revueltas: Beln Grosso, Pupy Merino y Morocha Verdugo.

Between Them and Us - Stories about Abortions II (Stories narrated by La Revuelta feminist abortionist activists) 5
 T his booklet brings together two short stories written by La Revuelta feminist activists. La Revuelta is
a feminist collective from the city of Neuqun in the north of Patagonia, Argentina, which calls for
cross-border feminist activism. With that in mind, in 2012 we launched an initiative to form and articulate the
network, Socorristas en Red (feministas que abortamos), which at the moment brings together thirty feminist
collectives from Argentina. Each group gives women and people capable of getting pregnant information about
how to get a medical abortion. We also accompany and take care of them during the process of abortion.
In March 2015, we edited Between Them and Us: Stories about Abortions I to be presented at the
symposium Narrativas sobre Experiencias Corpo-Aborteras held by the National University of Comahue in
Neuqun, Argentina. Unlike the current edition, that publication contained stories written by socorristas2
from dierent places in Argentina. Those stories can be read at www.comunicarigualdad.com.ar
The wonderful excuse for Between Them and Us: Stories about Abortions II -for the first time in English and
Spanish- is the Global Hotlines Meeting in which La Revuelta, among fifteen other feminist collectives from
Asia, Africa and Latin America, will take part. This event is organized by activists of the feminist organization
Samsara and will take place in Bali, Indonesia, in May, 2016.
Free feminist abortion all over the world!
Long live the feminist activism!
In Neuqun, Autumn, 2006, La Revuelta3

2 Activists who are part of Socorristas en Red.

3 The pictures found in this publication were taken by three Revuelta activists: Beln Grosso, Pupy Merino and Moro-
cha Verdugo.

6 Entre ellas y nosotras: los abortos II (Relatos de activistas feministas revueltas aborteras)
Between Them and Us - Stories about Abortions II (Stories narrated by La Revuelta feminist abortionist activists) 7
 Urgencia rosa
L a escuela, la beca,la tesis, Butler, Amors y, de
repente, Ruth y un pedido con cierta urgen-
cia. Estn muy mal, la hija desesperada, dice que
quiere quitarse la vida, tiene 21 aos, cursa derecho,
nos dice. Y as, de un momento a otro, toda esa lista
anterior parece que ya poco importa. Se acuerda el
encuentro al da siguiente en la plaza del centro. Hay
una catedral en frente, sonremos.
Llega la madre, viene de la escuela, tarde por una
mam que olvid buscar a su nio, nos abraza fuerte,
nos sentamos y comienza a hablar. Nos mira pero est
como ausente, su hija no vendr, pens que no era
necesario. Habla, pero no escucha. Se pierde, mira su
celular ya sin batera, no puede comunicarse con su
hija. Vuelve su mirada al vaco y sigue el relato. Me
vine para alejarla de l, vende droga y es peligroso,
declara. En las vacaciones se encontraron y ella que-
d embarazada. Al principio ella quera tenerlo, pero
l ahora la engaa con su mejor amiga y la maltrata
por telfono. No quiere seguir, no lo quiere tener. Me
dijo que no la buscara si un da llegaba y ella no esta-
ba. Vuelve a insistir con el telfono que ya se apag.
Una conocida a la que le cont me dio el nmero de
8 Entre ellas y nosotras: los abortos II (Relatos de activistas feministas revueltas aborteras)
este mdico. Un mdico que las estaf y maltrat,
farmacias que se negaron o intentaron no venderles la
medicacin aun con receta, 4500 pesos de un sueldo
de maestra de grado perdidos, completan esta parte
del relato.
Logra mirarnos de nuevo y continua sin hacer mu-
cho caso a nuestros intentos por calmarla. Hoy la vi
estudiando de nuevo; despus de hablar con Ruth
se tranquiliz, la puse en altavoz para que ella la
escuchara.Pensamos en esta frase como uno de los
finales a los que los socorrismos nos tienen felizmen-
te acostumbradas, pero no, ellas diran mucho ms.
Yo fui violada. Tengo otro hijo que dej en Tucu-
mn producto de esa violacin. Ahora nosotras nos
miramos, bajamos la cabeza. Qu decimos ahora?,
pensamos.No importa, ella sigue relatndonos su vida
aqu en el Valle. De pronto entendemos o confirma-
mos el porqu de esas miradas al vaco, los lapsus, la
no respuesta y esa sonrisa estampada en un rostro
que slo nos devuelve tristeza y cansancio: hay otros
medicamentos que s se consiguen fcilmente con una
receta en cualquier farmacia.
Acordamos otro encuentro donde estemos las cua-
tro, en otra plaza, ser casi de noche. Mi compaera
corre a entregar los papeles para su beca, hoy ltimo
plazo, yo a terminar otro captulo de deBeauvoir, el
seminario es en dos das. Nos encontramos y es la
hija quien ahora nos vuelve a contar la historia. Se la
ve bien. Comenzamos con el taller y as llegamos a la
pregunta: sufriste alguna vez violencia sexista? No,
dice ella. La madre la mira y algo le dice. Entonces ella
parece recordar. Me quisieron violar ms de una vez.
En una me ayud a escapar un amigo, pero me golpea-
ron tanto que termin en el hospital, estaba desfigu-
rada, nos dice.
- Hiciste la denuncia?
- S, pero nunca los encontraron.
Nunca los encontraron como quizs nunca encon-
traron al que viol a su madre y como quizs nunca
puedan encontrar la forma de denunciar al mdico
que las estaf.
Volvemos y hablamos de las lecturas.
- Estoy leyendo Revolucin punto cero, est re
bueno!
Between Them and Us - Stories about Abortions II (Stories narrated by La Revuelta feminist abortionist activists) 9
- Yo despus de Klein y Butler estoy algo per-
dida.
Nos remos. Y s, es ms fcil hablar de teora cuan-
do la realidad socorrista nos atraviesa de dolor el
cuerpo. Pero debe haber algo ms que eso. En esas
lecturas tambin buscamos una respuesta, una ex-
plicacin a esta misoginia generalizada y es entonces
cuando apuramos las lneas tratando de encontrar la
clave para ganarle esta lucha al patriarcado. Hoy, tal-
vez, le devolvimos el golpe.
Guille y Vivi
En primavera, octubre del 2015,
Viviana Fonseca La Revuelta
A Phone Call and an Urgent Request
L ife was getting really busy and, maybe, a little bit
hard during those days: the school, the scholar-
ship, the thesis, so many journeys and so much stu to
read: Butler, Amors, de Beauvoir I think I was read-
ing The Second Sex when, suddenly, I received a phone
call that would make me and my socorrista mate put
all that long list aside. It is just a second and everything
but that seems so meaningless. It was Ruth and her
request was urgent: She feels miserable. Her daugh-
ter is desperate and says she wants to take her life.
The girl is twenty and is studying law. We arranged a
meeting for the following day in a square in the center
of the city. Paradoxically, there was a cathedral oppo-
site. We managed a thin smile.
The mother was a teacher and she arrived late due
to a mother that had forgotten to pick up her child.
She approached us and hugged us tightly. We sat on a
bench and she started talking. Her daughter was not
coming. They thought it was not necessary. We could
see that there was something strange in her look. It
was distant, absent, faraway. She talked a lot, but she
would not listen. Then, she got lost in her thoughts,
looked at her mobile,it was running out of battery and
she would not be able to reach her daughter. I left
Tucumn in order to keep them apart. He is a drug
leader and he is very dangerous. Unfortunately, they
met during the holidays and she got pregnant. At first,
she wanted to have the child, but now he is going out
with my daughters best friend and he keeps on call-
ing and sending her texts messages. He is emotionally
abusing her. She does not want to continue with the
pregnancy and she told me she may kill herself. She
10 Entre ellas y nosotras: los abortos II (Relatos de activistas feministas revueltas aborteras)
gave her mobile another try, but it had turned o. A
woman I told about this gave me this doctors phone
number, she said. This part of the story ends with a
doctor that ripped them o, pharmacies that refused
to sell them the pills, even though they had a medical
prescription, and half of this teachers salary lost.
After a while, she managed to look at us again and
continued with her story. She seemed so hopeless!
We tried to soothe her but we did not succeed. Today
I saw her studying again. After talking with Ruth on
the phone, she calmed down. We thought that this
phrase would be the happy ending we, the socor-
ristas, are so used to. However, theirs was a long sorry
story of abuse and pain.
I was rapped. I have another son I left in Tucumn
who is the product of that sexual assault. We looked
at each other and turned our eyes to the ground. We
could not find a word to utter at that moment. She
did not care about us and kept on telling about her
life here, in Ro Negro. It was then when we realized
why she had that strange look, those lapses, and that
weird smile stamped on her sad, tired face: psychotro-
pic medication.
We decided that we would meet later in the eve-
ning so that we could talk with her daughter. Mean-
while, Guille, my socorrista mate, rushed to hand in
her papers so that she could continue with her schol-
arship -the deadline had been set for that day. As for
me, I did my best to focus and be able to read one
more chapter of de Beauvoirs - I had to take the
course in two days.
The encounter took place in a park near their
house. This time it was Camila, the daughter, who told
the story. She looked fine. We explained to her how to
use the medication and then we started to fill in the
protocola1. The answer to question number eight in
this form is usually so painful and annoying! Camilas
was not the exception: Have you ever suered any
emotional, physical or sexual abuse? No, she said,
but her mother stared at her and said something.
They tried to rape me more than once. On one occa-
sion a friend helped me escape, but they had beaten
me so badly that I ended up at the hospital, my face
was disfigured, she told us.
Did you make the report?
Yes, but they never found them.
1 It is a form we fill in with data about the women we
help.
Between Them and Us - Stories about Abortions II (Stories narrated by La Revuelta feminist abortionist activists) 11
They never found those guys and maybe they
never found the man who had raped her mother.
In the same way, mother and daughter would prob-
ably never find the way to report the doctor who had
scammed them.
We went back home. On the way, we talked about
books.
I am reading Revolution at Point Zero. It is a
very good book!
After reading Klein and Butler, I am a little bit
lost.
We laughed at each other. Yes, it is true. It is much
easier to talk about theory when our socorridas2 life
is so tough that we feel their pain in our bodies. But
I think there must be something else. In those read-
ings we try to find and answer, and explanation to this
widespread misogyny. It is here that we start scanning
the lines trying to find the clue about how we can win
this fight against patriarchy. That day, perhaps, we did
hit back.
Guille and Vivi
In Spring, October 2015,
Viviana Fonseca La Revuelta
2 Womenwehelp.
12 Entre ellas y nosotras: los abortos II (Relatos de activistas feministas revueltas aborteras)
 Trato de ser la mujer con la que me hubiese gustado encontrarme

C ada vez que me encuentro en el socorro con una mujer que ha tomado la decisin de abortar, me
imagino a m misma en esa situacin. Vuelven recuerdos de aquel momento en que a pesar de mis 20
aos decid abortar en m La Quiaca, (Jujuy) querida. Si hubiera tenido la oportunidad de encontrarme cara a
cara con una mujer que calmara mis ansias, que respondiera mis interrogantes, que me tranquilizara, que me
diera la certeza de que mi decisin no pona en riesgo mi salud, hubiera vivido de una manera muy distinta
ese momento. Tengo muy presente el desagradable instante en el que se marcaron dos lneas rojas en el test.
Estaba en el bao de un supermercado, fui a hacerlo ah antes de irme a trabajar, porque saba que en mi casa
no podra disimular si se confirmaban mis sospechas. No poda creerlo, rele el instructivo para ver si las dos
rayitas significaban negativo, pero nada que ver. Pens que poda tratarse de un error, as que lo repet, y por
supuesto se repiti el resultado. Sal del bao con los ojos llovidos, y con la desesperacin a flor de piel. Desde
ese primer momento estaba segura de que no quera ser madre, no saba cmo, pero lo deba resolver.

Record haber escuchado que algunas mujeres tenan abortos espontneos cuando hacan demasiado
esfuerzo, as que me puse zapatillas, tom la bicicleta y me dirig a un cerro empinado. Sub con mucho
esfuerzo y jadeando como una perra una y otra vez. Agotada me fui a casa esperando una hemorragia
pasaron las horas y nada, nada de nada!

Animarme a preguntar dnde o cmo realizarme un aborto era complicado, no poda confesarles a mis

Between Them and Us - Stories about Abortions II (Stories narrated by La Revuelta feminist abortionist activists) 13
hermanas que a pesar de que me regalaran una caja de condones, el deseo pudo ms y me haba embarazado.
La primera llamada fue para avisarle a mi pareja que obviamente la anticoncepcin de emergencia no haba
funcionado y que aparecieron dos malditas rayas rojas en los test que haba realizado.

Le dej muy claro que no haba la posibilidad de tenerlo porque yo quera seguir con mi carrera, l como
buen compaero me apoy; ramos dos que queramos abortar a toda costa. Decidimos contarle nuestro
secreto a su mam, porque ella ya haba abortado y seguramente entendera mejor la situacin. As fue, y
ya ramos tres tratando de encontrar una solucin, ella dej muy claro que debamos realizarlo de manera
segura. Consigui el dato de una enfermera que me indic tomar pastillas, el nico resultado que obtuve
fue una pequea mancha roja. La enfermera dijo que yo era muy dura y que por eso no haba funcionado.
Empezamos a buscar una forma que pudiera con la dureza de mi cuerpo, fuimos a una clnica y nos sugirieron
un procedimiento quirrgico, pero era demasiado caro, y no podramos pagarlo. As que cruzamos la frontera
y en Villazn (Bolivia) encontramos a un mdico piola que por menos dinero llevara a cabo el proceso. Lo
interrogu sobre su formacin y su experiencia realizando abortos; quera darle pronta resolucin a este
problema, por lo que no pregunt sobre el procedimiento, solo me recost y dej que hiciera su trabajo.

Trat de evitar recordar y pensar en ese aborto, pero inevitablemente algunas veces los ojos se me
inundaban de lgrimas. Estaba segura de negarme a maternar pero mi seguridad se vea interrumpida por
pensamientos como: no hay nada mejor que ser mam; tener un hijo te cambia la vida para bien; una
mujer solo es mujer cuando pare; un hijo es una bendicin; un hijo viene con un pan bajo el brazo y
otras sarta de frases trilladas que lo nico que hacen es reproducir los mandatos de la maternidad obligatoria,
14 Entre ellas y nosotras: los abortos II (Relatos de activistas feministas revueltas aborteras)
y negarnos el derecho a las mujeres de decidir sobre nuestro primersimo territorio, el cuerpo. Mis heridas
sanaron y mis convicciones retornaron cuando pude salir del closet con una compaera revuelta y decirle:
YO ABORT.

Por eso en cada encuentro socorrista y durante el proceso del aborto trato de despejar dudas y hacerles
saber y sentir a las socorridas que ah estoy yo, por decisin poltica, para acompaarlas, cuidarlas y apoyarlas
en su decisin.

Nadia, la que abort y ahora es abortera

Neuqun- Mayo de 2015

Between Them and Us - Stories about Abortions II (Stories narrated by La Revuelta feminist abortionist activists) 15
 I Try to Be the Woman I Would Have Liked Meeting That Time

A t each socorro1, when I meet a woman who has decided to have an abortion, I picture myself in
thatsame situation and long lasting memories come back. I recall that time in La Quiaca (Jujuy), my
beloved hometown, when, in spite of being 20, I decided to have an abortion. If I had had the opportunity
to have a face-to-face meeting with a woman who hadallayed my anxiety, who had clarified my doubts, who
had soothed me, who had assured me that my health was not at risk due to the decision I had made, I would
have experienced that moment in a very dierent way.

I always remember that unpleasant brief instant when the two lines appeared on the pregnancy test.
I was in thebathroom in a supermarket; I did it there before going to work, on my own, because, if my
suspicions were confirmed,I knew that I would not beable to hide my feelings. I could not believe it, I read
the instructions again to check if those two lines meant not pregnant, but it was the other way around. I
thought there might have been a mistake so I did it again and, of course, the result was exactly the same. With
my teary eyes, I went out of the toilet in complete despair. From that very first moment I was sure that I did
not want to become a mother; I did not know how, but I had to sort it out.

I remembered having heard that some women had miscarriages when they made too much physical
eort, so I put on my training shoes, took my bicycle and made my way to a steep hill. Over and over again, I
1 Meetings we have with women who do not want to continue their pregnancy. We give them all the information they
need to have an abortion using pills (misoprostol).

16 Entre ellas y nosotras: los abortos II (Relatos de activistas feministas revueltas aborteras)
climbed it with a lot of eort and panting like a dog. I went home worn outand in the hope that I would have
a hemorrhage the hours went by and nothing happened, nothing at all!

It was dicult to gather up the courage to ask where or how to get an abortion. I could not tell my
sisters that, in spite of the fact that they had given me condoms, the desire had been stronger and I had got
pregnant. I made a first call to my partner to tell him that, obviously, the emergency contraception had failed
and that two damned lines had appeared on the tests I had taken.

I made it clear that there was no possibility of continuing with the pregnancy because I wanted to finish
my studies. He is a good partner and he supported me. Now the two of us were trying to abort at all costs.
We decided to reveal our secret to his mother because she had had an abortion and she would probably
understand our situation. Indeed, it was the case, so,now, we were three peopletrying to find a solution. She
was clear on one point: we had to do it safely.

She got some data about a nurse who instructed me to take some pills, but the only resultI got was a
little red spot on my underwear. The nurse said that I was too tough and thats why the pills hadnt worked.
Then, we began to look for another way that could beat the toughness of my body. We went to a clinic
and they suggested a surgical procedure, but it was too expensive and we could not aord it. And so, we
crossed the Bolivian border and in Villaznwe found a very nice doctor who, for less money, would carry out
the procedure. I questioned him on his academic training and experience in performing abortions, but, as I
wanted to solve that problem as soon as possible, I did not ask about the procedure, I just lay on the stretcher
andlet him do his job.

Between Them and Us - Stories about Abortions II (Stories narrated by La Revuelta feminist abortionist activists) 17
 I tried to block out memories and thoughts about that abortion, but it was really hard and sometimes my
eyes were filled with tears again. At that time, I was sure that I would not become a mother, but my decision
was challenged by thoughts like: there is nothing better than being a mother; having a child changes your
life for good; a woman cannot be completely fulfilled without having children; a child is always a blessing;
a child always brings good fortune and many other clichs which can only reproduce social mandates that
enforce motherhood and deny womens rights to decide on their very first territory, their body. My wounds
healed and my former convictions were strengthened when I could come out of my very own closet and tell
my revuelta mate: I HAVE HAD AN ABORTION.

Thats why in each socorristameeting and during the process of abortion I try to clarify all womens doubts
and let them know and make them feel that I am there with them, that I support their decision and that I will
take care of them.

Nadia, the one who had an abortion and became an abortionist,

Neuqun- May, 2015. La Revuelta

18 Entre ellas y nosotras: los abortos II (Relatos de activistas feministas revueltas aborteras)
Buenos Aires, March 24, 2016. Demonstration for the 24th anniversary of the last
Between Them and Us - Stories about Abortions II (Stories narrated by La Revuelta feminist abortionist activists) 19
Argentinian civilian-military and ecclesiastic coup. Picture by Florencia Castello.
20 Entre ellas y nosotras: los abortos II (Relatos de activistas feministas revueltas aborteras)