Council of Europe Committee of Ministers Urges Poland to Guarantee Effective Access to Lawful Abortion Care – Statement

March 12, 2026
Center for Reproductive Rights

GENEVA—This week, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted a decision urging Poland to ensure effective access to lawful abortion without further delay. The Committee expressed continued concern that Poland has yet to fully comply with the European Court of Human Rights’ judgments in the cases of Tysiąc v. Poland, R.R. v. Poland, P. and S. v. Poland, and M.L. v. Poland, which require the authorities to ensure that access to lawful abortion is accessible in practice.

More than 18 years after the first of these landmark judgments became final, systemic barriers remain. Poland’s highly restrictive abortion law and the criminalisation of abortion continue to have a chilling effect on the provision of lawful abortion care. Combined with regulatory gaps, ineffective complaint procedures, frequent refusals of care based on the “conscience clause,” and the stigma surrounding abortion, these barriers leave many women who are legally entitled to abortion unable to access these services in practice. The situation deteriorated further following the regressive Constitutional Tribunal’s ruling in 2020, which effectively imposed a near-total ban on abortion.

Continued: https://reproductiverights.org/news/coe-committee-of-ministers-poland-access-abortion-care/

European rights body says abortion refusal complaints in Poland have ceased

By Reuters
March 12, 2026

WARSAW, March 12 (Reuters) - The number of ‌legal abortions in Poland doubled in 2024, while complaints to Polish authorities over conscience clause refusals in the country have ceased, the Council of Europe said on Thursday.

Poland, a predominantly Catholic country, introduced a near-total abortion ban in 2021 under the previous nationalist government after pregnancy termination due to foetal abnormalities was ruled unconstitutional.

Continued: https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/european-rights-body-says-abortion-refusal-complaints-poland-have-ceased-2026-03-12/

12.03.2026

Andorra: Activist on trial for raising concerns about total abortion ban at UN meeting

December 1, 2023
Amnesty International

Abortion rights activist, Vanessa Mendoza Cortés, should have never been charged with a crime or put on trial for defending human rights, said Amnesty International, the Center for Reproductive Rights and Women’s Link ahead of her defamation trial on Monday.

Vanessa Mendoza Cortés, President of Stop Violence (Stop Violències), a civil society organisation, was charged with criminal defamation after voicing concerns about Andorra’s total abortion ban at a meeting of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) to examine the country’s record on women’s rights in 2019.

Continued: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/12/andorra-activist-on-trial-for-raising-concerns-about-total-abortion-ban-at-un-meeting/

Malta – Abortion change that preserved the status quo

In stark contrast, the Diluted Amendment limits the scope of who may access the necessary treatment, since it requires that the life or health of the patient must be ‘in grave jeopardy which may lead to death’

Neil Muscat
14 October 2023

In the past months, Malta has witnessed the diluted version of Bill 28 (the ‘Diluted Amendment’) (Act XXII of 2023) signed into law by the President.

Prime Minister Robert Abela had touted the former Criminal Code amendment (the ‘Original Amendment’) as a way to protect women's lives and health, saying these principles were ‘non-negotiable'.

Continued: https://www.maltatoday.com.mt/comment/blogs/125229/abortion_change_that_preserved_the_status_quo__neil_muscat

Malta – 2022 in review: A health crisis that sparked an abortion debate2

Malta’s blanket abortion ban has been questioned many times in the past... but 2022 saw its most serious challenge yet

Claudia Calleja
Jan 1, 2023

Abortion: a word that is guaranteed to spark a tense debate. Throughout the years, Malta has been nudged into considering its introduction but has held firm against. In 2013, the International Commission of Jurists told the UN that Malta’s blanket ban on abortion puts women at risk of torture and cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment. Nothing happened.

Three years later, the UNs Committee on the Rights of the Child recommended the decriminalisation of abortion “in all circumstances”, urging the government to ensure adolescent girls have “access to safe abortion and post-abortion care services”. Several international appeals persisted, including from the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights. Nothing happened.

Continued: https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/2022-review-health-crisis-sparked-abortion-debate.1004578

Malta – Council of Europe Human rights commissioner welcomes abortion amendment

Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović has welcomed the decriminalisation of abortion if a woman’s life or health is in danger but says more needs to be done

5 December 2022
by Kurt Sansone

The exceptions to Malta’s strict anti-abortion law that parliament is discussing are “a first imperative step” to protect women’s rights, the Council of Europe human rights commissioner said.

Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović welcomed the proposal put forward by government to decriminalise abortion when a woman’s life or health is at risk. But she also called for more steps to be taken to legalise abortion.

Continued: https://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/120182/council_of_europe_human_rights_commissioner_welcomes_abortion_amendment#.Y46fjnbMKrQ

05.12.2022

Italy – Feminists protest against Meloni over abortion rights

By Federica Pascale | EURACTIV.it
Nov 27, 2022

Feminists protested in Rome against new Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, calling her a fascist and saying her government threatens the right to abortion in the country.

The protest aimed first at decrying the violence perpetrated against women and showing support for Iranian women but turned into denouncing Meloni’s government which protesters claimed threatened the right to abortion.

Continued: https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/feminists-protest-against-meloni-over-abortion-rights/

27.11.2022

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Malta proposes bill to ease EU’s strictest anti-abortion law

Malta’s government has introduced legislation to ease the European Union’s strictest anti-abortion law and allow the procedure in cases where the mother’s life or health is at risk

By KEVIN SCHEMBRI ORLAND, Associated Press
November 21, 2022

VALLETTA, Malta -- Malta’s government introduced proposed legislation Monday to ease the European Union’s strictest anti-abortion law and allow the procedure in cases where the mother’s life or health is at risk.

The move comes after a headline-grabbing case involving an American tourist who miscarried and was airlifted off the Mediterranean island to get treatment.

Continued: https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/malta-proposes-bill-ease-eus-strictest-anti-abortion-93743387

Malta activists protest, seek to decriminalize abortion

Abortion rights activists have filed a legal protest in Malta’s courts demanding the legalization of abortion

By Kevin Schembri Orland , Associated Press
June 15, 2022

VALLETTA, Malta -- Abortion rights activists filed a legal protest in Malta’s courts on Wednesday demanding the legalization of abortion in the only European Union member where the procedure is criminalized.

Toting banners reading “I decide,” “Abortion is a woman’s right” and “Abortion is health care, not a crime,” the activists protested on the steps of Valletta’s legal courts after filing the complaint.

Continued: https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/malta-activists-protest-seek-decriminalize-abortion-85416949

15.06.2022

European Court of Human Rights

Lara Dimitrijevic

Women's Rights Foundation

Abortion in Italy is legal, but finding one is hard

Issued on: 14/06/2022

Rome (AFP) – For 40 years, gynaecologist Michele Mariano has been the only person performing abortions in Italy's conservative Molise region. He has delayed retiring twice because no one will replace him, many refusing to terminate pregnancies as conscientious objectors.

It's an extreme example, but emblematic of a wider issue in Italy, where abortion up to 90 days after conception has been legal since 1978 -- but many healthcare providers don't offer them.

Continued: https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220614-abortion-in-italy-is-legal-but-finding-one-is-hard