In an innovative act of protest, women from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland are banding together to raise awareness about restrictions on abortion access in their countries. In both places, abortions are illegal, and access to them is severely restricted—something abortion activists (obviously) aren't OK with. That's why they've decided to send a drone full of abortion pills from the Republic of Ireland to Northern Ireland—to make a point about how hard it is for Irish women to get abortions.

To clarify, the island of Ireland is made up of two separate countries: Northern Ireland (part of the UK) and the Republic of Ireland (not part of the UK). In Northern Ireland, abortion is a criminal offense, and women who take abortion medication can be sentenced to life in prison. Exceptions can be made only in cases where the mother's mental health, physical health, and/or life are at risk (and not in cases of rape, incest, or fetal abnormality)—making Northern Ireland the only UK country where abortions are still criminalized. Abortion restrictions in the Republic of Ireland are similar to those in Northern Ireland. The act of getting an abortion is still a criminal offense, and exceptions are made (and not made) in the same cases, but prison sentences tend to be lighter.

Many have spoken out about these restrictions, calling them an attack on women's rights. But the laws persist. So several activist organizations—Alliance For Choice, Rosa, Labour Alternative, and Women on Waves—are collaborating to make a difference, or at the least, raise awareness. "It is an all-island act of solidarity between women in the north and the south," one Women on Waves representative said in a statement. "[We want] to highlight the violation of human rights caused by the existing laws that criminalize abortion in both the north and south of Ireland, except in very limited circumstances."

So why a drone? According to the women behind the project, the "abortion drone" illustrates how difficult it is for women in Ireland to access abortion medication, despite it being fairly easy for women in other European countries to do so. Plus, they can legally fly abortion pills from the Republic of Ireland into Northern Ireland without running into any (anticipated) trouble. This isn't the abortion drone's first venture, either. In a similar protest last June, a drone flew abortion pills from Germany to Poland.

Once the drone lands in Northern Ireland, several non-pregnant activists plan to take some of the abortion pills to illustrate how safe they are. Because the abortion pill actually consists of two doses of medication—first, Mifeprex (or mifeproitone), then, misoprostol—these women will not be inducing abortions. They'll just be taking the initial dose of Mifeprex to show that women can safely do so. The protestors, however, do not expect other women to take the drone's pills. The act is more demonstrative than anything.

The drone will fly next Tuesday morning and will be followed by a protest in Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland.

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Photo Credit: Getty / Dennis Fischer ; Phil Walter