Polish women are scared to be pregnant amid concerns they won’t be able to abort in case of complications that could endanger their lives, an activist told EU News.
The situation is far worse than they had imagined, according to an advocate for women rights, “Women now in Poland, say they are afraid to get pregnant,” Urszula Grycuk, An international advocacy coordinator.
“They often call the federation helpline and they ask: ‘What happens if…? Will I get that type of service or not?”
Proponents of the law say “every life is precious” and that it was a way to prevent the abortion of fetuses with Down’s syndrome.
12 months later & abortion ban protests
A year after Poland marked the anniversary (27th January) of the introduction of a near-total ban on abortion. The abortion ban protests have not slowed down.
That came after the country’s constitutional court decreed it unconstitutional for women to terminate their pregnancies even in cases of severe and irreversible foetal defects.
Since then, the only exceptions to the near-total abortion ban have been in cases of rape or incest or when the mother’s health is in danger.
But in practice that has been difficult, say activists. They say two women have died over the last year because they were refused abortions even though their health was in peril.
Fear of prosecution & scared to be pregnant
Even though pregnancies with foetal diseases and defects could be terminated before the implementation of the law, the number of so-called legal abortions in Poland has hardly fluctuated since January 2021 with just under 1,100 women allowed to abort over the past 12 months.
Polish girls and women are now turning to other avenues to avoid prosecution being scared to be pregnant is no way to live.
Some travel to neighbouring countries in the EU or even resort to the black market and pay private doctors and nurses to administer the abortion.
NGOs estimate that approximately 200,000 people access abortion in Poland every year through pills or by travelling abroad. Follow live on Twitter
Under the current legislation, women who take pills at home or who travel abroad to abort cannot be pursued legally but anyone who helps them can.
These include any medical professionals, family members, partners and friends or even activists.
‘EU needs to respond’
Human rights groups say they want a bolder reaction from EU institutions to the situation in Poland. The Polish government had hoped that the lockdown would have taken the steam out of the abortion ban protests, but it hasn’t.
“The European Union has been aware of the massive problems in Poland. I think that they have taken some steps in terms of infringement procedures and all that” but it could be bolder. It could be stronger,” Donadio said.
In the last year where covid restrictions allowed for it, Poland has seen massive demonstrations against the abortion law as the Polish women are not going to give up.
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