Abortion is only allowed under very limited circumstances for married women and is a rare event. There are no women-run clinics. Eileen Schnitger of Women's Health Specialists presented a brief history of American women's struggle for reproductive freedom. Her explanation of self-exam provoked reactions ranging from avid interest and discussion to polite silence. Self-exam is not practiced in Guinea.
Women also learn when they are most fertile and likely to conceive.
At the end of the presentation, the Guinean leaders were invited to observe a demonstration of self-exam. About half chose to do so. Schnitger exchanged address information with women, offering to send materials and workshop leaders to Guinea. Women leaders, according to the Guineans, need to have self-control, calmness, experience, relationships, a little luck, and a lot of confidence. Madeline Thea, a mayor and national assembly deputy, suggested that Project Coordinator Diana Parks, International Studies, was an excellent example of women's leadership.