In a repeat of a similar trip to Ireland in 2001, Women on Waves, an organization founded by pro-abortion activist Dr. Rebecca Gomperts, plans to take Polish women from the harbor to international waters, where Dutch law on abortion would then apply.
Jeannette Kruseman, press coordinator for Women on Waves, said the boat docked in the port on Sunday and that customs and medical officials were continuing to examine the facilities and medications aboard.
"We plan to give information about contraceptives and sexual education, among other things," Kruseman told CNSNews.com via cell phone from the boat Monday. "Women who are seeking advice can find it here."
The group does not plan to perform any surgical abortions on board but has not said if the ship is carrying the abortifacient RU-486 pill. Kruseman said she could not go into further detail about the services offered by Women on Waves for fear of violating Polish law.
Kruseman said the boat plans to make several back-and-forth trips from the harbor to international waters 12 miles offshore but that the group's plans were subject to change. The group plans to stay in and near Poland until July 5.
"It all depends on the Polish authorities," she said. "It also depends on the weather and other factors."
Protesters greeted the boat and threw red paint when it initially docked in Wladyslawowo, a port north of Gdansk on the Baltic Sea. The boat originally sailed to the port of Gdynia but was denied permission to dock.
Kruseman called the protesters "a very small group of radical males."
"They are using traditional intimidation tactics," she said. "The amount of support we receive each day is much larger than the opposition."
Poland, a heavily Roman Catholic country, has strict laws against abortion.
Protests and criticism
The boat attracted criticism from pro-life activists both within and outside of Poland.
"We must not let criminals enter our territorial waters and perform crimes on our children," Archbishop of Gdansk Tadeusz Goclowski said during a sermon last week.
Goclowski said the boat's mission was to "kill Poles."
Bert Dorenbos, leader of the Dutch organization Schreeuw om Leven (Cry for Life) and a longstanding opponent of Women on Waves, said that his group had helped organize protests along with pro-life organizations inside Poland.
Dorenbos, speaking by phone from Amsterdam, called the trip a "publicity stunt."
"It's a strange way to bring your case to the public," he said, predicting that the trip would alienate even some pro-abortion Poles.
"For us, this boat is a reminder that we have to be very active," he said. "There will be activities every moment that the boat remains in this harbor."
The boat's 2001 trip to Ireland, where abortion is prohibited in most cases, also met with controversy. Prior to the visit, the group did not receive permission from Dutch health authorities to perform abortions of any type on board, and thus, it did not distribute RU-486 or carry out surgical procedures.
In February of last year, the boat briefly lost its medical license. However, the Dutch Ministry of Health later reinstated the license and ruled that doctors on board would be allowed to dispense RU-486.
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