Poland has one of Europe’s most restrictive abortion laws, permitting it only in situations of risk to the life/health of a pregnant woman, or in cases of rape. But in practice, it is almost impossible for those eligible for a legal abortion to obtain one. https://t.co/LA4x95E3KY pic.twitter.com/Ux9rRDrSAU
— Human Rights Watch (@hrw)
January 26, 2022
Tens of thousands of Poles had demonstrated in 2021 after a 30-year-old woman perished following the death of her unborn child.
Her family described her as the first victim of the ban on termination of pregnancy, alleging that doctors “adopted a wait-and-see attitude” due to new regulations that limit the possibility of a legal abortion.
The country had one of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe when the constitutional court sided with the right-wing populist government in ruling that terminations for fetal defects were unconstitutional.
The verdict “has had a devastating impact on the lives of women and all those who need to resort to abortion,” the human rights groups said. “The sentence has increased the extreme barriers faced by women who want to access an abortion and has had tragic consequences for many of them and their families,” they added.
Abortion is currently prohibited in Poland, except in cases of rape and incest, or when the life or health of the mother is considered to be in danger.