Abortion Without Borders helps more than 17,000 with abortion in six months after Polish constitutional court ruling

Published on April 22, 2021
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Exactly six months ago – on the 22nd October 2020 – the Constitutional Tribunal in Poland ruled that the performing abortion due to foetal defects in Polish hospitals is unconstitutional. Even though the decision came into force only at the end of January 2021, in practice the change worked immediately. Already on the 23rd October 2020 the first four people who had been refused abortion in Polish hospitals called Abortion Without Borders.

In the last 6 months the groups that make up Abortion Without Borders have helped thousands of people from Poland to access abortion. 597 people were able to terminate their pregnancy abroad in the second trimester. The financial support exceeded 420,000 PLN (£79,500)

Continued: https://www.asn.org.uk/press-release-abortion-without-borders-helps-more-than-17000-with-abortion-in-six-months-after-polish-constitutional-court-ruling/

More Polish women travel abroad for abortions after law change

MARCH 01, 2021
Darek Delmanowicz/PAP

The number of women with pregnancy complications leaving Poland for an abortion has increased substantially following a near complete ban on abortion in the country.

The Dziennik Gazeta Prawna (DGP) newspaper, surveyed institutions organising abortions after a Constitutional Tribunal ruling from October 22, 2020 became legally binding.

Continued: https://www.thefirstnews.com/article/more-polish-women-travel-abroad-for-abortions-after-law-change-20187

01.03.2021

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When terminations are banned in Poland, Polish women buy train tickets

Feb 27th 2021
The Economist

Wander around any Polish city and the same phone number pops up on an array of unlikely surfaces. It is scrawled on bus stops and billboards. It can be daubed on the side of a church. Head online and the same number (+48 222 922 597) appears in people’s usernames. Those who dial it are put through to Kobiety w Sieci (“Women on the Net”), a group that offers women information on how to get abortions. In a country where providing terminations is now, in effect, illegal, it is a useful number to have.

In October Poland’s constitutional court struck down a law allowing abortion in cases of fetal abnormality. Of the 1,000 or so legal abortions in Poland per year before the ban, nearly all were in this category. Now, abortion is limited to cases of rape or to save a mother’s life. This fulfils a long-held dream of Poland’s ruling Law and Justice party to clamp down on abortions. Activists responded by turning cities into a gonzo Yellow Pages.

Continued: https://www.economist.com/europe/2021/02/27/europes-underground-abortion-network

Activists on the horror of Poland’s near-total abortion ban

Despite mass protests, global criticism, and already strict abortion laws, the country’s government has rolled back women’s rights even further

1 February 2021
Brit Dawson

Women in Poland right now face the most significant rollbacks on fundamental rights in recent history. Last week (January 27), the country’s right wing government moved to implement a near-total ban on abortion, despite the ruling sparking mass protests and global criticism when it was first declared three months ago.

Pro-choice activists immediately took to the streets and social media, leading the biggest protests in the country’s recent history. In November, after almost two weeks of demonstrations, the government announced that it was delaying the abortion ban. Now, however, it’s been enforced with immediate effect.

Continued: https://www.dazeddigital.com/politics/article/51808/1/activists-on-the-horror-of-poland-near-total-abortion-ban

Poland – ‘Women’s rights are being trampled’

Voices from a protest march in Warsaw over Poland's near-total abortion ban

By Kuba Kaminski, Antonia Mortensen and Laura Smith-Spark, CNN Sun January 31, 2021

Warsaw, Poland — The protesters who marched through the Polish capital's icy streets on Friday night had a clear message for the government over its imposition this week of a near-total ban on abortions: We will stand up for women's rights.

It was the third day of protests since the ruling came into effect -- and marked 100 days of protests since Poland's constitutional tribunal court first handed down its controversial ruling, sparking weeks of mass demonstrations.

Continued: https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/31/europe/poland-abortion-law-protests-intl/index.html

Protests hit Poland as near-total abortion ban takes effect

Court ruling bans all abortions except in cases of rape and incest, or when the mother’s life or health are considered to be at risk.

29 Jan 2021

Armed with red paint and defying coronavirus restrictions, hundreds of Poles rallied in Warsaw on Thursday against a controversial court verdict imposing a near-total ban on abortion.

Protesters also took to the streets elsewhere in the staunchly Catholic EU member state in a second night of outrage after the Constitutional Court ruling came into effect on Wednesday.

Continued: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/1/29/poland-abortion

A major battle is brewing over abortion rights in Poland

Dec 19, 2020

By Malcolm Brabant, Ivette Feliciano
Video – 9:21 minutes

A major battle is underway over abortion rights in Poland. The country’s constitutional court, whose legitimacy has been questioned by some, has made it even harder for Polish women to get abortions. The move has been condemned by the European Parliament and human rights groups like Amnesty International. Special Correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports from the capital Warsaw.

Read the Full Transcript

Continued: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/a-major-battle-is-brewing-over-abortion-rights-in-poland

Abortion Without Borders helps more than 5,000 people in Poland in first year

Celebrates with billboards advertising their service in Warsaw

Thursday, December 10, 2020, Warsaw
Aborcja Bez Granic / Abortion Without Borders

Abortion Without Borders helps more than 5,000 people in Poland in first year; celebrates with billboards advertising their service in Warsaw.

The Abortion Without Borders initiative has helped more than 5,000 people in Poland since its launch one year ago. The group has provided pregnancy options counselling, information about safe abortion with pills in Poland, and funding and practical support for abortion outside Poland. To celebrate, the group has engaged billboards in Warsaw advertising their organisation and will hold a press conference in Warsaw at 11 am local time. In their first year, Abortion Without Borders has:

Continued: https://womenhelp.org/en/page/1265/abortion-without-borders-helps-more-than-5-000-people-in-poland-in

Solidarity across countries: Perspectives of Polish abortion rights protesters

BY MIRANDA JIANG
Dec 5, 2020

More than 200 people met at San Francisco’s Rincon Park on Nov. 1 to show support for the protests in Poland against the government’s latest abortion restrictions. Right next to the Embarcadero waterfront, face-masked adults and children carried signs emblazoned with red bolts of lightning, the symbol of Poland’s Women’s Strike. On the signs were slogans, most in Polish and some in English, including “San Fran stands with the women of Poland” and “Abort the Patriarchy.”

“This is a peaceful show of support for our country,” said Magdalena Myszka, a Bay Area resident born and raised in Poland. Myszka organized this protest by posting an event on Facebook. The protesters chanted slogans used in the Polish protests, some of which translate to “I think, I feel, I decide” and “This is war.”

Continued: https://www.dailycal.org/2020/12/05/poland-abortion-protests/

Women struggle to access abortion as pandemic adds to hurdles in Europe

By Catarina Demony
NOVEMBER 16, 2020

LISBON (Reuters) - Helplines across Europe have reported higher demand for their services as the coronavirus pandemic adds to the hurdles many women face to access abortion.

While abortion is legal in most of Europe, some women have struggled to get appointments in public health systems overwhelmed by the pandemic. Others could not escape abusive partners because of lockdowns, non-governmental organisations and some women who chose to have an abortion told Reuters.

Continued: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-europe-abortion/women-struggle-to-access-abortion-as-pandemic-adds-to-hurdles-in-europe-idUSKBN27W11P