JAN 12, 2024
Notes from Poland
President Andrzej Duda has issued pardons to two stars of state TV under the former conservative government who were found guilty of criminal defamation against a prominent activist for abortion and LGBT rights.
The pardons of Magdalena Ogórek and Rafał Ziemkiewicz were issued before Christmas but not announced by the president’s office. Following media reports earlier this week, a court has now confirmed that the pair have been pardoned.
JUN 13, 2023
Notes from Poland
Poland’s health minister, Adam Niedzielski, has announced the creation of a special team to help ensure that pregnant women receive appropriate medical care, including abortions if their health is endangered.
His decision follows the latest death of a pregnant woman in hospital. As in some previous cases, the woman’s family and activists have blamed Poland’s near-total abortion ban for the tragedy. But officials say it was a case of medical malpractice.
As the U.S. Supreme Court looks set to overturn the Roe v. Wade ruling that established the right to abortion, campaigners for abortion access from Africa to Latin America say the move could have devastating consequences
by Nita Bhalla and Anastasia Moloney, Thomson Reuters Foundation
Monday, 30 May 2022
NAIROBI/BOGOTA - As soon as Kenyan housewife Ann found out she was pregnant in September last year, she knew having the child was out of the question.
For years, the 27-year-old had been a victim of domestic violence: her husband beat her routinely, denied her money to feed their three children, and had sexual relationships with other women.
19/10/2021
International Federation for Human Rights
(Brussels, October 19, 2021) – Women, girls,
and all pregnant people have faced extreme barriers to accessing legal
abortions in the year since a Constitutional Tribunal ruling virtually banned
legal abortion in Poland, 14 human rights organizations said today. Since the
ruling, women human rights defenders have also faced an increasingly hostile
and dangerous environment.
Poland’s authorities should end efforts to undermine reproductive rights and
weaken protections from gender-based violence. They should commit to protecting
women human rights defenders who have faced ongoing threats and attacks since
the October 2020 decision. Escalating death threats since October 9 against
Marta Lempart, co-founder of Ognopolski Strajk Kobiet (All-Poland Women’s Strike)
and a target of repeated threats for leading demonstrations supporting legal
abortion and women’s rights, led to her police protection during public
appearances.
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/
BY MIRA PTACIN
February 11, 2021
It’s been called different things: the Coat Hanger Rebellion, Black Protests, Strajk Kobiet, or Women’s Strike. For half a decade, it’s continued to grow louder and stronger. Now, many are calling it a revolution: millions of Polish women, men, and children protesting the government and all-powerful Catholic Church’s continuous attempts at a near-total ban of abortion.
Over the past several years, Poland’s conservative Law and Justice Party (PiS) has introduced increasingly draconian restrictions on abortion access in the country. In 2016, a proposal was introduced that would ban nearly all abortions except those necessary to save a woman’s life. The citizens of Poland took to the streets, and the protests had a dramatic impact: The the PiS, which had previously championed the bill, voted the legislation down.
Continued: https://www.vogue.com/article/poland-abortion-marta-lempart
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
Four years ago, Polish women went on strike over an abortion ban. Now, a younger, fiery generation has joined them.
Magdalena Muszel, Grzegorz Piotrowski
11 December 2020
The protests in Poland over the government’s plans to further tighten abortion restrictions began in October – they haven’t stopped since. Now, some are calling it the “cardboard revolution” in reference to the handmade placards that have become a distinctive feature of the protests. But what’s novel about the movement isn’t the ubiquitous signage – it’s the young age of its participants.
When looking through the crowds at the protests, it quickly becomes clear that most participants appear to be in their early twenties. That might explain the radicalism of the movement’s chants and slogans, but also it’s creativity and spontaneity.
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/
Nov 28, 2020
By: Vanessa Gera, Canadian Press
WARSAW, Poland — Police blocked protesters from marching in Poland's capital as demonstrations took place across the country against an attempt to restrict abortion rights and recent police violence.
Police and protesters played a game of cat and mouse in Warsaw as officers set up cordons which the protesters sought to evade, pushing them to try to regroup elsewhere in the city centre.
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