State-Enabled Intimidation: How Anti-Abortion Extremism Is Undermining Legal Healthcare in Poland

12.02.2026
ASTRA Network

Poland is experiencing a coordinated and escalating campaign of anti-abortion intimidation and disinformation that directly undermines women’s access to lawful healthcare. This campaign is driven by fundamentalist actors and increasingly reinforced by political figures and state institutions that legitimize and amplify these practices. Together, these dynamics create a climate in which legally guaranteed medical services are systematically obstructed through fear, harassment, and institutional pressure.

Abortion Access in Poland: Law and Reality
Poland has one of the most restrictive abortion legislations in Europe. Following politically captured rulings of the Constitutional Tribunal, abortion is now effectively permitted only when a pregnancy poses a threat to a woman’s life or health, or when it results from a criminal act.

Continued: https://astra.org.pl/state-enabled-intimidation-how-anti-abortion-extremism-is-undermining-legal-healthcare-in-poland/


Some people who seek abortions can face prison time in more than 120 countries, analysis shows

In six countries, some abortion seekers can face life in prison, according to a global study of the penalization of abortion.

March 21, 2023
By Julianne McShane

Some people who seek or obtain abortions can face prison time in more than 120 countries, according to an analysis published Monday that sheds new light on international penalties for the procedure.

More than 90 countries have maximum penalties of up to five years of prison time for certain abortion-seekers, while 25 have sentences of between five and 10 years, according to the research, which relied on a World Health Organization database of abortion policies.

Continued: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/womens-health/abortion-penalties-prison-time-around-world-rcna75760