Participation in conferences and organization of advocacy events

ICMA utilises opportunities provided by conferences and workshops to advocate for and disseminate information on medical abortion. Some of the significant meetings where ICMA has been represented in the last four years include: 

• 10th International Women and Health Meeting, New Delhi, India in September 2005. ICMA organized and sponsored a workshop session entitled “Medical abortion: what is it?” with presentations on the following topics:

• National seminar and training on medical abortion, Kiev, Ukraine, October 2005. The ICMA Coordinator and a Steering Committee member anchored an orientation-training session before the start of introductory clinical studies on medical abortion in the country.

• 3rd Asia Pacific Conference on Reproductive and Sexual Health, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, November 2005. The ICMA Coordinator made a presentation on the potential role of medical abortion in promoting access to safe abortion worldwide.
• National Roundtable on Medical Abortion, Kaunas, Lithuania, December 2005. The ICMA Coordinator, an advisory Group member, and coordinator of the WHO Europe Region participated at the request of the Lithuanian Family Planning Association. The aim of the roundtable was to support the registration of medical abortion in Lithuania; it was attended by national policymakers, health service providers and women’s NGOs.
•  Berzelius Symposium 65, Reproductive Health and Rights: Contraception, Abortion and Society, Stockholm, Sweden, April 2006
• Consorcio Lationamericano contra el Aborto Inseguro, Lima, Peru, May 2006
• International Federation of Abortion and Contraception Associates (FIAPAC), 7th Congress, 2006, Rome, Italy, October 2006
• International Federation of Obstetricians & Gynecologists (FIGO)  World Congress, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, November 2006. ICMA hosted a panel on “Medical Abortion: Policy, Service Delivery and Access, Promoting Good Models”. The ICMA Information Package on Medical Abortion was launched during this panel.
• ASTRA Meeting Warsaw, Poland, 14-15 July, 2007. ASTRA, The Central and Eastern European Women’s Network for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, convened this meeting to launch the ASTRA Documentary: “Sexual and and Reproductive Health and Rights in the Central and Eastern Europe”. The ICMA Coordinator made a presentation on the importance of medical abortion and the access picture in EE countries and focused on the ICMA plan to support the establishment of a regional EE safe medical abortion network. ASTRA members expressed willingness to support this initiative.
• Training on the Prevention of Unsafe Abortion Songkla province, Thailand, 5-7 September 2007. The event was organized by the Reproductive Health Division of the Ministry of Public Health, in cooperation with the Women’s Health and Reproductive Rights Foundation of Thailand (WHRRF), the Royal Thai College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (RTCOG), Songkhlanakarin University and Hatyai Hospital. Were discussed the medical, counseling, legal, health, economic and social issues surrounding abortion.
• Global Safe Abortion Conference, organized by Marie Stopes International (MSI) and Ipas, 23-24 October, London, UK. At the conference ICMA conducted an International Breakout Session: Second-Trimester Abortion: Law, Policy, Service Delivery and Advocacy Issues and held a meeting to discuss a regional network in Asia and distributed the ICMA Conference Report.
• Fourth Asia Pacific Conference on Reproductive and Sexual Health and Rights, organized in India by the India Consortium on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, 29-31 October 2007. ICMA staffed a booth and distributed informational packets on medical abortion, and held the second meeting to discuss a regional network in Asia.
• International Federation of Professional Abortion and Contraception Associates (FIAPAC) Conference, 24-25 October 2008 Berlin, Germany.
• 11th  AWID (Association for Women's Rights in Development) International Forum, November 14-17, 2008, Cape Town, South Africa. ICMA will conduct  the session “Building national and international movements for abortion rights: then and now”.