Poland / UK – Until restrictive abortion laws change, women will continue to suffer

Two recent cases in Poland and England have sparked widespread concern about abortion laws and the role of healthcare professionals in implementing them

BMJ 2023; 382 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.p1517
Published 05 July 2023
Maria Lewandowska, research fellow in reproductive and sexual health

The past weeks have seen a number of tragic events surrounding abortion in Europe. In Poland, yet another pregnant woman has died of sepsis having been denied a life-saving termination; in Britain, a woman was sentenced to 28 months in prison for taking abortion pills beyond the gestational age limit.

In Poland, abortion laws were relatively liberal during Communism. When democracy was restored in the 1990s, a new, restrictive law was imposed allowing abortion in three narrowly defined cases: when pregnancy carried a risk to the life or health of the mother; when it was a result of a crime; or in the case of severe fetal anomaly.

Continued: https://www.bmj.com/content/382/bmj.p1517

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/

Poland: “Not One More”. One year after the illegitimate abortion ban

Feb 9, 2022

NOT ONE MORE
One year after the illegitimate ruling of the Constitutional Tribunal
Federa will not leave any woman alone

One year has passed since the most brutal attack on women’s rights in modern Polish history. A year of pain, terror, and suffering for thousands of women.

From the very announcement of the ruling of the flawed Constitutional Tribunal the Federation for Women and Family Planning has warned that the ban on abortion would result in the deaths of patients and, unfortunately, our predictions came true.

Continued: https://en.federa.org.pl/anniversary-of-the-ct-abortion-ban/

Massive protests in Poland after the death of a woman who was denied an abortion

HELEN HERNANDEZ
Nov 6, 2021

Thousands of people took to the streets in various cities of Poland to protest after the death of a woman who was denied an abortion, in a country with one of the most restrictive laws on the legal interruption of pregnancy (ILE) in Europe.

Under the motto “Not one more”, the most massive protest took place in Warsaw, where the protesters marched from the headquarters of the Constitutional Court – which with its 2020 ruling made abortion illegal in almost all its causes – towards the national Ministry of Health.

Continued: https://oicanadian.com/massive-protests-in-poland-after-the-death-of-a-woman-who-was-denied-an-abortion/

Black Voices of Feminism Make Headway in Latin America

Black Voices of Feminism Make Headway in Latin America

November 14, 2019
By Ivet Gonzalez (IPS)

HAVANA TIMES – Within the green scarves’ movement fighting for abortion rights and against femicide, Afro-descendant women in Latin America are raising their voices more and more every day, to underline the disadvantages and invisibility they suffer in society.

The growing capacity to get women’s movements to fight for abortion rights and against gender-based violence, reaffirms the mark that feminism has had on the region. However, diversity within this struggle, such as the fight of black and mixed-race women in a region with 133 million Afro-descendants, still lags behind.

Continued: https://havanatimes.org/features/black-voices-of-feminism-make-headway-in-latin-america/

Argentina’s Rejection Of Abortion Bill Claims First Victim

Argentina's Rejection Of Abortion Bill Claims First Victim
The woman – identified only as Elizabeth – went to hospital suffering from septic shock and a generalized infection after a botched abortion, and later died.

Published 14 August 2018

A 24-year-old Argentine woman has died following an illegal abortion less than a week after the Senate voted to reject the Pregnancy Voluntary Interruption (IVE) bill, which would have legalized abortion up to 14 weeks and helped prevent such tragedies.

On Sunday, the woman – identified only as Elizabeth – went to Belgrano Hospital in San Martin suffering from septic shock and a generalized infection after a botched abortion procedure.

Continued: https://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Rejection-Abortion-Bill-Argentina-Takes-First-Victim-20180814-0027.html