Stories appeared in the Danish press on 20 July detailing a cross-party proposal to provide free abortions for a limited number of Polish women in Denmark.
Danish political parties the Red-Green Alliance and the Social Liberal Party want the Danish state to allocate DKK 20 million (over € 2.7 million) over four years to help women from Poland to have abortions in Denmark. If all goes according to plan, the money will go to the organisation Sex og Samfund, the Danish FPA, which in cooperation with the international network Abortion Without Borders will make abortion accessible to about 165 people per year. The proposal was also supported by the liberal-conservative Venstre party, currently the largest party in opposition.
Denmark allows abortion on request until the 12th week, unless the life or health of the pregnant woman is in danger. This proposal could be particularly helpful for those given a diagnosis of fetal anomalies in the second or third trimester of pregnancy – who were hit hardest by Poland’s ban on those abortions on 22 October 2020.
Abortion Without Borders has helped more than 20,000 Polish women access abortions since that date. More than 800 of them were in the second trimester of pregnancy and needed to access care in a clinic abroad. Abortion Without Borders recipients most often travel to clinics in the Netherlands and England, but occasionally elsewhere in Europe. The total amount of financial support provided by all the organisations that are part of Abortion Without Borders since 22 October 2020 is more than half a million Polish zloty (€ 100,000). This amount includes not only the cost of the abortion, but also travel, accommodation abroad and, where required, Covid tests.
FULL PRESS RELEASE by Abortion Support Network, 20 July 2021 ; PHOTO: Women’s eNews, 12 November 2020