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/

Poland: Escalating Threats to Women Activists

Human Rights Watch
March 31, 2021

(Berlin) – Bomb and death threats targeting at least seven groups in Poland for supporting women’s rights and the right to abortion are disturbing reminders of escalating risks to women’s human rights defenders in the country, Human Rights Watch, CIVICUS, and International Planned Parenthood Federation-European Network (IPPF-EN) said today.

The authorities should urgently investigate, protect the women targeted and hold those responsible for the threats accountable. Polish officials should also counter abusive misinformation campaigns targeting activists.

Continued: https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/03/31/poland-escalating-threats-women-activists

31.03.2021

All-Poland Women's Strike

Andrzej Duda

anti-choice death threats

anti-choice extremism

anti-choice hatred

anti-choice misogyny

anti-choice terrorism

anti-choice threats

anti-choice violence

Bartlomiej Wroblewski

Federation for Women and Family Planning

Feminoteka

FundacjaFOR

Grupa Stonewall

Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights

Hillary Margolis

Human Rights Watch

International Planned Parenthood Federation

International Planned Parenthood Federation European Network

International Women's Day

Law and Justice party

Marta Lempart

Ogólnopolski Strajk Kobiet

Poland Constitutional Tribunal

Przemysław Czarnek

Women’s Rights Centre (Centrum Praw Kobiet)

Women’s Strike

Women’s Strike Consultative Council

The women trapped and traumatised by Poland’s near-total abortion ban

Poland already had some of the strictest abortion laws in Europe, but new changes have effectively banned them completely.

21 Mar 2021
(26 minute podcast)

Poland already had some of the strictest abortion laws in Europe, but new changes have effectively banned them completely.

Many women now have to travel abroad to seek abortions or risk performing them at home.

Continued: https://www.channel4.com/news/the-women-trapped-and-traumatised-by-polands-near-total-abortion-ban

Poland must adopt clear and effective
procedures for women to access lawful abortion

STRASBOURG
12 MARCH 2021

The Committee of Ministers of the 47-nation Council of Europe has adopted an
Interim Resolution (*) calling on Poland to adopt clear and effective
procedures on steps women need to take to access lawful abortion. These
procedures should ensure that no unnecessary requirements are imposed on
pregnant women seeking lawful abortion by hospitals beforehand and cover
abortion refusals on grounds of conscience. The authorities also should ensure
that women be provided with adequate information on these procedures.

The Interim Resolution relates to Poland’s implementation of three judgments
from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) concerning legal abortions (P.
and S. and Tysiac and R.R.), which pre-date restrictions of the laws on legal
abortion in Poland resulting from a judgment of the Constitutional Court of 22
October 2020.

Continued: https://www.coe.int/en/web/portal/-/poland-must-adopt-clear-and-effective-procedures-for-women-to-access-lawful-abortion

12.03.2021

European Court of Human Rights

Poland Constitutional Tribunal

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

Abortion Network Amsterdam

Abortion Support Network

Abortion Without Borders

near-total ban

Poland Constitutional Tribunal

travelling for abortion

Most Poles support less restrictive abortion laws

MARCH 01, 2021

The majority of Poles are in favour of more
liberal abortion laws, according to a new poll published today.

The IBRIS poll found that 78 percent want less-restrictive laws, while
10 percent of those polled want the practice outlawed altogether. Just 12 percent
opted for the current system, which allows terminations only when the pregnancy
is the result of rape or incest, or when it threatens the health or life of the
mother.

Continued: https://www.thefirstnews.com/article/most-poles-support-less-restrictive-abortion-laws-20177

01.03.2021

Featured

News

abortion poll

Poland Constitutional Tribunal

Civil unrest as Poland implements near-total abortion law; an attack on reproductive rights

Makaela Jones
March 1, 2021
The Organization for World Peace

On 27 January, the Polish government passed controversial legislation further tightening their already restrictive abortion laws. Relative to other European nations, Poland’s abortion laws were already prohibitive, tolerated only in cases of rape, incest, foetal abnormalities, and maternal health complications. The government’s ruling follows an earlier revision made by the Constitutional Tribunal in October 2020 that declared the termination of a congenitally defective fetus was unconstitutional. The abortion law was last amended in 1993. The proposed amendment resulted in an extreme public outcry and mass demonstrations, forcing the government to reassess the revised abortion law. Prior to the Courts ruling on Wednesday the government had indicated they were open to dialogue. However, the abrupt passing of the new legislation has caused extreme division amongst Polish residents. It demonstrates the extreme cultural, moral, and political divide that resides within Poland. The continual nationwide unrest is the largest the country has seen following the fall of communism in 1989.

Continued: https://theowp.org/civil-unrest-as-poland-implements-near-total-abortion-law-an-attack-on-reproductive-rights/

01.03.2021

Commentary

Featured

All-Polish Women’s Strike

foetal abnormalities

Marta Lempart

Poland Constitutional Tribunal

Poland’s Recent Abortion Ban

The PiS, the Catholic Church, and the Denial of Basic Human Rights

By Enora Lauvau
On Feb 21, 2021
The McGill International Review

Known to be a conservative Roman Catholic nation, Poland has long been home to fierce debate over abortion rights, with the two opposing sides consisting of traditionalists and those advocating a more progressive agenda. Tensions reached an all-time high last October, as the country’s Constitutional Tribunal ruled to further increase the restrictions on legal abortions. Already, Poland had some of the most stringent abortion laws in Europe, with abortion been legal in only three cases: fetal abnormalities, a direct threat to the woman’s health, and rape or incest. In a decision made on October 22, 2020, however, the court declared abortions in the case of congenital defects illegal, on the basis that the Polish Constitution protects human life. Considering that out of the mere 1,100 abortions that legally occurred in Poland last year, 98 per cent of them were for this reason, such a decision essentially ensures that those seeking abortions will either be forced to leave the country or perform them at home, both of which will put their health at risk and leave them vulnerable to legal prosecution. Already, women’s rights groups estimate that between 80,000 to 150,000 citizens get abortions outside of Poland’s health system each year.

Continued: https://www.mironline.ca/polands-recent-abortion-ban/

Poland – Part of opposition bloc backs abortion on request up to 12 weeks

(PAP) MR/JCH/MRB
FEBRUARY 15, 2021

Some members of the Civic Coalition (KO), Poland’s main opposition grouping, are in favour of abortion on request, PAP has learned.

KO member Nowoczesna has drafted a bill proposing the introduction of the so-called “German variant” allowing abortion on request up to 12 weeks of pregnancy following consultations with a doctor and psychologist.

Continued: https://www.thefirstnews.com/article/part-of-opposition-bloc-backs-abortion-on-request-up-to-12-weeks-19838

15.02.2021

Law and Justice party

Malgorzata Kidawa-Blonska

Nowoczesna

Poland Constitutional Tribunal

The unheard pain of abortion in Poland

By Valérie Gauriat
Updated: 12/02/2021

In front of one of Warsaw's main hospitals, an ominous van is parked. Its sides are covered in an image of what is allegedly a dead fetus. It's a message from anti-abortion groups to one of the capital’s few facilities that still perform pregnancy terminations.

A recent ruling by the Constitutional Tribunal has just toughened one of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe. Terminations in Poland were once only allowed in cases of rape, incest, danger to the mother's health or life, serious defects of the fetus or incurable disease. The new amendments mean that last option is now prohibited.

Continued: https://www.euronews.com/2021/02/12/the-unheard-pain-of-abortion-in-poland