Feb 14, 2025
Notes from Poland
Justyna Wydrzyńska, an activist who was convicted two years ago for providing abortion pills to a pregnant woman, has succeeded in having the conviction annulled.
An appeals court found that the presence of the judge who issued the initial verdict – who had been appointed by a judicial body rendered illegitimate due to the previous Law and Justice (PiS) government’s reforms – resulted in the lower court being incorrectly composed when it ruled on the case.
The decision means that the case will now return to that lower court, where Wydrzyńska will face a repeat of the initial trial. Under Poland’s strict abortion laws, helping someone obtain an abortion is punishable by up to three years in prison.