Vessel

Warship blockades and furious protests often await Rebecca Gomperts and her Women on Waves team when they sail their ship to foreign ports and offer women access to the abortion pill. In many of the countries they visit — such as Morocco, Ireland, Ecuador and Tanzania — abortion is illegal and controversial, but Gomperts’ approach is to transport women 12 miles offshore into international waters. There on the open seas, the laws of her ship take jurisdiction, and she can provide services to women in need legally. She also takes it one step further by teaching women — via email — how to take the pill on their own. It’s a struggle for the women involved, but as Vessel shows, it's one to which they are all fully dedicated.