On 10 August 2024, CEDAW published the Advance Unedited Version of its inquiry into the situation of abortion in Poland. It is based on information obtained in 2019 and 2020 from three women’s groups: the Koalicja Karat (KARAT Coalition), Federacja na Rzecz Kobiet i Planowania Rodziny (Federation for Women and Family Planning), and Center for Reproductive Rights. The sources alleged that Poland has committed grave and systematic violations of rights under the Convention owing to the restrictive access to abortion for women and girls in Poland.
The three women’s groups submitted that, in Poland, the provision of women with assistance to obtain an abortion is criminalized, punishable by a maximum sentence of 3 years’ imprisonment, and the availability of abortion is severely restricted. They alleged that Poland’s abortion laws and practice discriminate against women and violate their rights by nullifying their reproductive autonomy and denying them access to essential reproductive health services, which constitutes grave and systematic violations of rights under the Convention, particularly articles 2, 5, 10, 12, and 14.
On 8 February 2021, Poland submitted its observations alleging that States have sovereign competence and are entitled to protect the right of the unborn child to life from the time of conception; that the right to respect for private life of the woman cannot be interpreted as meaning that pregnancy and its termination pertain uniquely to the woman’s private life; and that the woman’s right to respect for her private life must be weighed against other competing rights and freedoms invoked, including those of the unborn child. It indicated that abortion is lawful when the pregnancy places the life or the health of the woman in danger, or when the pregnancy is the result of a crime. Poland denied any breach of its obligations under the Convention and asserted that no revision of its legislation was envisaged.
During its 78th session, the Committee examined all information received and found the allegations to be reliable and indicative of grave or systematic violations of rights under the Convention. They designated two CEDAW members to investigate further.
On 22 February 2022, Poland agreed in principle to the visit of the designated members depending on the specific dates and the epidemiological situation in the country. It accepted the visit on 1 September 2022. The visit was conducted from 20 November to 2 December 2022. During the visit, the designated members and two members of the secretariat of the Committee met with officials from the Ministry of Health, the Patient’s Rights Ombudsman, the Plenipotentiary for Equal Treatment of the Ministry for Family and Social Policy, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the National Public Prosecutor’s Office. They interviewed health-care professionals, members of Parliament, representatives of civil society, academia and women who had sought or had procured an abortion. They also met with representatives of international organisations.
The report they published (20+ pages) describes in detail what the two CEDAW representatives found. The first section covers access to legal abortion, that is, pregnancies threatening the life or health of the woman. However, there was no official guidance protocol for medical staff.
As regards what to treat as an exception the representatives were informed that the exception from criminalization in cases of risk to life or health is often interpreted erroneously by medical personnel, notably that a health threat needs to be of such seriousness that it actually constitutes a threat to life. This has led to cases where medical personnel waited for a sepsis or other life-threatening condition before conducting an abortion. Equally, medical professionals are often under the erroneous belief that to conduct an abortion under the exception, the heartbeat of the foetus must have stopped. There were cases where women were left to wait in the hospital in a severely deteriorating health status until either the heartbeat of the foetus had stopped, or their own condition had become life-threatening. The interpretation of when a situation becomes life-threatening also depends on the interpretation of the individual doctor in charge. The designated members learned that doctors are frequently afraid that they might be carrying out an abortion “too early”, in violation of the law.
The designated members were informed about six cases of deaths of pregnant women that could have likely been prevented by an abortion. The designated members were informed that the women who died had not received the necessary medical attention, notably access to abortion, which would likely have saved their lives and that the circumstances of their deaths strongly indicate a refusal by the respective medical staff in charge to perform an abortion. The Committee takes note of the announcement by the Minister for Health following the death of a seventh woman that new guidelines for hospitals and obstetricians on the provision of abortion care would be developed.
The following are a list of the main subject headings covered in the report:
-Difficulties faced to access abortion based on a threat for the woman’s mental health
-Chilling effect of the criminalization of abortion on medical personnel
-Pregnancies resulting from a crime
-De facto limitations on access to legal abortions in Poland: (a) Reporting obligations and investigations, (b) Refusals of care based on conscientious objection, (c) Insufficient training and inaccurate methods, (d) Inadequate complaints procedure, (e) Geographical limitations, (f) Lack of information.
-Criminalization of abortion and its effect on women and society: (a) Pregnancies involving a severe and irreversible foetal defect or incurable illness that threatens the foetus’ viability, (b) Lack of legal obligation to inform about the result of prenatal tests, (c) Impact on the quality of care, (d) Women in situations of poverty and other situations of intersectional discrimination, (e) Reality of clandestine abortions in Poland, (f) Travelling outside Poland for abortion, (g) Post-abortion care for illegal abortions or those performed outside Poland.
-Intimidation of protesters, human rights defenders and civil society.
-Protesters.
-Influential role of anti-abortion lobbyists and activists.
-Psychological effect on women.
-Inadequacy of family planning support
-Social context of abortions in Poland
The next main section covers legal findings: “State party’s obligations with regard to the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women under the Convention” and “Violations of rights under the Convention”, including criminalization of abortion, Impeded access to sexual and reproductive health services, and very limited or no availability of abortion, depending on the grounds. In addition, they found disproportionate hardship for rural women, women in situations of poverty and vulnerability, and absence of post-abortion care, discriminatory gender stereotypes, and lack of access to sexual health education.
The remainder of the report outlines the principal findings of violations under the Convention and the grave or systematic nature of the violations, and CEDAW’s substantial recommendations to make abortion legal and available, recognizing the right to abortion as a fundamental right.
SOURCE: CEDAW Report: Inquiry concerning Poland conducted under Article 8 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention (in English originally, French, Spanish).