Poland: A hunt for traces of abortion pills in women’s blood

How researchers test for traces of misoprostol and mifepristone — the two drugs used in medication abortions — in women who have experienced a miscarriage.

Sushmitha Ramakrishnan
Nov 6, 2023

A 22-year-old woman arrived at a hospital in Wroclaw, Poland, with a dead fetus. She said she'd had a miscarriage, but hadn't known she was pregnant.

Her apartment, which was subsequently raided by Polish authorities, told a different story. Officials found painkillers, antibiotics, a used pregnancy testing kit and tablets commonly dubbed "abortion pills" scattered around the home.

Continued: https://www.dw.com/en/poland-a-hunt-for-traces-of-abortion-pills-in-womens-blood/a-67287124


This is what abortion rights look like around the world (and where the UK stands)

France is set to enshrine a woman’s right to an abortion in its constitution.

By Charley Ross

2 November 2023

In a promising step forward for women's empowerment, French president Emmanuel Macron has promised that a woman's right to abortion will be “enshrined” irreversibly into the country's constitution by next year.

“In 2024, women's freedom to have an abortion will be irreversible,” he posted on social media over the weekend, adding details of how this legislation will come into place.

Continued: https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/abortion-rights-guide-uk-world


Justyna Wydrzyńska’s speech before the European Parliament’s Committee on Women’s Rights

Press release from: aborcyjnydreamteam.pl
Aborcyjnego Dream Teamu  (Abortion Dream Team)

My name is Justyna Wydrzyńska and I have been helping with abortions in Poland for 16 years. More than a month ago, exactly on March 14, I was found guilty by a Polish court of assisting an abortion.

I am one of the people who answers the call of the Abortion Without Borders hotline, operating since December 2019. Every day from 8am to 8pm you can call the number 22 29 22 597 and get support before, during and after abortion with pills at home or get help in leaving the country to have a surgical abortion abroad.

Continued: https://preview.mailerlite.io/emails/webview/90350/86434881410696572


‘Shocked’: EU Parliament removes Women’s Day video featuring anti-abortion rally

Images of the Croatian protest were later edited out of an official Parliament video.

BY EDDY WAX
MARCH 9, 2023

BRUSSELS — The European Parliament removed a video it posted online to mark International Women’s Day Wednesday that contained images of a rally against abortion.

For a few seconds, the video showed an image of an anti-abortion protest in Croatia featuring a man holding a placard with the slogan: “Nine weeks from conception, it already sucks its thumb.”

Continued: https://www.politico.eu/article/shocked-eu-parliament-removes-womens-day-video-featuring-anti-abortion-rally/


Not one more’ woman can fall victim to Poland’s abortion laws

Women must be able to count on the EU to protect them — especially when their own governments are the ones endangering their lives.

BY ROBERT BIEDROŃ
DECEMBER 31, 2022
(Robert Biedroń is a member of the European Parliament and chair of the FEMM Committee on women’s rights and gender equality.)

During the Cold War, women from Western Europe would travel behind the Iron Curtain to access free and legal abortion services in Poland. However, the tables have since turned.

For the last 30 years, Polish women have been subject to increasingly restrictive abortion laws, culminating in the Constitutional Tribunal’s ruling, which introduced a near-total abortion ban in 2020, leaving them with fewer sexual reproductive health rights than in fundamentalist states like Iran.

Continued: https://www.politico.eu/article/women-victim-poland-abortion-laws/


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


EU Parliament condemns U.S. abortion ruling, calls for human rights safeguards

Jul 7, 2022
By Raf Cassert, Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s parliament on Thursday overwhelmingly condemned the end of constitutional protections for abortion in the United States and called for such safeguards to be enshrined in the EU’s fundamental rights charter.

In a 324-155 vote with 38 abstentions, European Parliament lawmakers adopted a resolution that crystalized the anger seen in many of the EU’s 27 member countries since the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its ruling on June 24.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/eu-parliament-condemns-u-s-abortion-ruling-calls-for-human-rights-safeguards


European Parliament urges EU to make abortion a basic right

The European Parliament voted to make abortion a fundamental right in the 27-nation bloc. The vote is a reaction to the US Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade.

July 7, 2022

The European Parliament endorsed a resolution which calls for adding "everyone has the right to safe and legal abortion" into the charter of fundamental rights within the EU.

On Thursday, 324 members of the European Parliament (MEPs) voted in favor of the resolution, with 155 voting against and 38 absent from the assembly in Strasbourg, France.

https://www.dw.com/en/european-parliament-urges-eu-to-make-abortion-a-basic-right/a-62396892


European Parliament chides US Supreme Court over abortion

The motion weighs in on the draft US Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade.

BY CARLO MARTUSCELLI
June 9, 2022

The European Parliament entered the U.S. abortion debate on Thursday after EU lawmakers voted in favor of a motion criticizing America's highest court over its draft decision to overturn the landmark Roe versus Wade case, which for the past 50 years has enshrined the legal right of American women to terminate their pregnancy.

It's the second time in less than a year that Parliament has expressed reservations over how abortion is handled across the Atlantic. In October last year, Parliament passed a motion calling for the repeal of Texas rules that imposed a de facto ban on abortion in the state. But the motion voted on Thursday is unusual because it weighs in on a court decision decision leaked by POLITICO, and which has yet to be confirmed.

Continued: https://www.politico.eu/article/european-parliament-chides-us-supreme-court-over-abortion/


EU’s call for abortion as fundamental rights – a political bluff?

By Giedre Peseckyte | EURACTIV.com
Jan 28, 2022

MEPs call for abortion to be included in the Charter of Fundamental Rights is supported by the French presidency, but according to an EU law expert, this is “not going to happen” – and having an anti-abortion Parliamentary president is not the only obstacle.

On Thursday (20 January), the Parliament
plenary discussed the proposal from Spanish MEP and the president of the socialist
group Iratxe García Pérez to extend the Charter of Fundamental Rights to
include the right to abortion.

Continued: https://www.euractiv.com/section/health-consumers/news/eus-call-for-abortion-as-fundamental-rights-a-political-bluff/