Poland’s de facto abortion ban risks lives, says MEP

By Clara Bauer-Babef and Eleonora Vasques | EURACTIV.com
Nov 18, 2022

While technically allowed in some cases, abortion in Poland may as well be forbidden, putting women’s lives at risk, said Robert Biedron, EU lawmaker and leader of the Polish opposition party Nowa Lewica on Thursday (17 November).

Two years ago, Poland’s constitutional court approved a highly-restrictive new law that de facto banned abortion. Only 107 legal abortions were performed in 2021, approximately 90% less than in previous years, according to figures published by the Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita.

Continued: https://www.euractiv.com/section/health-consumers/news/polands-de-facto-abortion-ban-risks-lives-says-mep/

Women call for tougher EU stance on Poland’s abortion laws

At least six women have died in Poland after doctors refused to terminate their pregnancies due to the constitutional court’s ruling on abortions.

By Priyanka Shankar
Published On 18 Nov 2022

Brussels, Belgium – Fighting for justice and women’s rights in Poland has become an integral part of Barbara Skrobol’s life since September 22, 2021.

This was the day her sister-in-law, Izabela Sajbor, died of sepsis at a hospital in southern Poland after doctors refused to terminate her pregnancy after finding foetal defects, due to Poland’s stringent abortion rules.

Continued: https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2022/11/18/women-call-for-tougher-eu-stance-on-polands-abortion-laws

Abortion rights: While the US is on brink of rolling back Roe v Wade, where is Europe headed?

By Luke Hurst
May 6, 2022

Europe is feeling the political shockwaves from the US Supreme Court’s proposed reversal of women’s reproductive rights.

Campaigners have been shocked by the leaked opinion, which suggests it is considering overruling the landmark Roe v Wade case which legalised abortion nationwide in 1973.

Continued: https://www.euronews.com/next/2022/05/06/abortion-rights-with-the-us-on-brink-of-rolling-back-roe-v-wade-where-is-europe-headed

Ukraine war: Volunteers deliver emergency contraception pills

By Annabel Rackham, BBC News
Apr 29, 2022

Charities are working to deliver emergency contraception into Ukrainian hospitals as reports of rape rise.

Nearly 3,000 packets of morning-after pills have been sent to areas of the country most affected by the Russian invasion.

The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) has provided the pills, which volunteers are delivering.

Continued: https://www.bbc.com/news/health-61269792

Most of Europe fails to guarantee access to abortion care

A new comprehensive atlas of abortion policies across Europe shows that women’s experience ‘largely depends on their postcode’

Tatev Hovhannisyan
28 September 2021

Women and girls in almost a third of European countries have problems accessing abortion care and some are even forced to continue pregnancies against their will, reveals the European Abortion Policies Atlas, published today on International Safe Abortion Day.

“It is startling how governments are cynically manipulating [the law] to prevent women’s access to abortion,” said Caroline Hickson, regional director of the International Planned Parenthood Federation European Network (IPPF EN), co-author of the Atlas with the European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual and Reproductive Rights (EPF).

Continued: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/5050/europe-access-abortion/

28.09.2021

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Caroline Hickson

European Abortion Policies Atlas

European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual and Reproductive Rights

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International Planned Parenthood Federation European Network

International Safe Abortion Day

Europe: Abortion Curbs Endanger Women, Girls in Pandemic

Europe: Abortion Curbs Endanger Women, Girls in Pandemic

Measures Urgently Needed to Safeguard Access in the Region

April 8, 2020

(Brussels) – European governments should urgently guarantee safe and timely access to abortion care for women and girls in the region during the COVID-19 pandemic, 100 nongovernmental organizations said today.

Many women and girls in Europe are struggling to safely access abortion care during the pandemic as barriers caused by highly restrictive abortion laws and onerous administrative requirements to access abortion services make safe access to this essential health care extremely difficult. The call comes as Poland’s parliament prepares to debate a draconian new law that would make one of the region’s most highly restrictive abortion laws significantly more stringent.

Continued: https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/04/08/europe-abortion-curbs-endanger-women-girls-pandemic

08.04.2020