Prime Minister Donald Tusk admits Polish abortion law liberalisation unlikely in the current parliamentary term… (but read on)

P.M. Donald Tusk at Campus Polska Przyszłości, an annual

event for young people organised by groups linked to elements

of the ruling coalition.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk has admitted that there will not be a majority for the liberalisation of Poland’s abortion law during the current parliamentary term – that is, until at least 2027.

Tusk’s Civic Coalition (KO) – the largest group in the ruling coalition, whose members range from the left to centre right – came to power on a promise to, among others, end Poland’s near-total abortion ban introduced in 2021 under the former national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) government.

The task, however, has proven to be more difficult than initially thought, as there is no consensus within the ruling coalition on how a new abortion law in Poland should look.

Since taking office in December, the government’s attempts to broaden the abortion law – which only allows the procedure if the pregnancy threatens the life or health of the mother, or if it resulted from a criminal act (such as rape or incest) – have failed.

Last month, the parliament also rejected a bill that would decriminalise aiding abortions, as the more conservative element of the government, the agrarian Polish People’s Party (PSL), voted against it, underscoring the ruling majority’s internal divisions on the issue.

“Until the next election, there will be no majority in this parliament for legal abortion, in the full sense of the word. We should not fool ourselves,” said Tusk, answering a question during Campus Polska Przyszłości, an annual event for young people organised by groups linked to elements of the ruling coalition.

“Perhaps we will try to convince PSL…They, as you know, are saying firmly: we can agree to changes only on one condition, that there will be a referendum on this issue,” Tusk said. Such a referendum, in turn, is opposed by women’s rights groups, he said, who argue that access to abortion is a human right, and should not be decided by a public vote. “I will not propose a referendum against [the will of] all those who are today victims of this provision. If they do not want it…then we will not force a referendum,” said the Prime Minister.

Even if a more liberal abortion law were to be approved by parliament, PiS member President Andrzej Duda has vowed to veto any attempts to soften the existing law.

Tusk, however, assured participants at the event that despite these restrictions, his government would take action to “relieve all those who rightly feel they are discriminated against in Poland. A very different practice will be in the prosecutor’s office and in Polish hospitals. This is already underway, and it will be very noticeable,” he said. “But for now, these are going to be half measures. I apologise that it is all I can do at the moment.”

However, his government is not only sitting and waiting for the next election. To facilitate access to abortions currently permitted by law, the Tusk-led government has introduced a requirement for all publicly funded health care providers to offer currently permitted abortions, as well as the threat of financial penalties for hospitals that unjustifiably refuse to provide these abortions. In June, the first hospital was fined under the new rules.

The Left (Lewica), which put forward the rejected bill to decriminalise abortion, also pledged to continue the fight for a softer law. “I want to tell you, without provoking anyone or arguing with anyone: The Left will not stop fighting for abortion rights,” said Włodzimierz Czarzasty, one of the group’s leaders, during Campus Polska Przyszłości on Saturday. Unfortunately, the article ends there and Czarzasty does not say what Lewica can and will be able to do themselves.

SOURCE: Notes from Poland, 26 August 2024. PHOTO: Campus Polska Przyszłości

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But the Abortion Dream Team isn’t waiting…

Facebook, Abortion without Borders

The Abortion Dream Team (ADT) isn’t waiting either. ADT was formed in 2016 to provide Polish women with abortion pills mailed from abroad. As an activist group that helps women in Poland access abortions, they’ve responded to the political situation preventing law reform by saying: “We’re fed up with people constantly making things difficult for us. The law is strict, but everything is a matter of interpretation. Under PiS [the anti-abortion previous government], we would probably go to jail for this,” said Natalia Broniarczyk of ADT. But in the present situation, the group sees a chance.

ADT activists have been toying with the idea for several years. They dream of creating a place where women can come, take abortion pills and go through the entire process. Or pick up the pills and take them at home. And also seek advice and ask about anything that seems embarrassing. What is crucial for ADT is that “abortions can take place in a friendly and safe atmosphere, where women are not asked for or judged for their reasons”. Here is what ADT are doing:

They plan to open the country’s first abortion clinic in Warsaw. As they gather funds to make their dream a reality, they recognise the legal loopholes that will help them to provide safe abortions in Poland in a physical, non-judgemental space…. So something is changing…!!

SOURCE: Worldcrunch, by Paulina Nodzinska (in English), 21 August 2024.

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And then the letter from CEDAW arrived…

The letter from CEDAW calls for all the necessary changes leading towards total decriminalization and legalization of abortion in Poland…

The rights of women in Poland are currently being violated due to restrictive abortion laws that have contributed to “several preventable deaths,” say the independent rights experts.

These restrictive laws have forced many women to carry unwanted pregnancies to term, travel abroad to have legal abortions or seek private unsafe procedures, based on information from the UN human rights office (OHCHR).

The report from the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) published on Monday, found that most abortions in Poland are being carried out illegally and in unsafe conditions as it is illegal to assist women in getting abortions, with minimal legal exceptions, and services are often inaccessible.

Committee Vice-Chair Genoveva Tisheva said: “The situation in Poland constitutes gender-based violence against women and may rise to the level of torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.”

The CEDAW committee found that Poland’s “already restrictive legal framework” had some “serious implementation flaws” including doctors hesitating to perform abortions due to fear of criminal liability or on moral or religious grounds, making it challenging for women to access safe abortion services.

The committee emphasised significant challenges women face in accessing abortion services, especially when pregnancies result from criminal activity, due to a “complex and victim-unfriendly bureaucratic process.” These challenges are further exacerbated by strong anti-abortion lobbying groups, threats, and the stigmatisation of those who provide assistance.

“Together, these factors create a complex, hostile and chilling environment in which access to safe abortion is stigmatised and practically impossible,” Ms. Tisheva said.

Conclusions and Recommendations

The CEDAW committee concluded that Poland’s restrictive abortion laws endanger the health and lives of women and cause mental and physical suffering, which is a gender-based violation against women.

These restrictive laws can also be considered “torture or cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment.”

Vice-Chair Tisheva said, “Women’s mental anguish was exacerbated when forced to carry a non-viable foetus to term, a situation that has worsened since a 2020 Constitutional Court ruling banned abortion even in cases of fatal foetal abnormalities.”

This ruling reportedly made abortion illegal except in cases where a pregnant woman’s life may be in danger or cases of sexual assault.

Some of CEDAW’s recommendations to Poland include recognising abortion as a fundamental human right and the adoption of a human rights based approach to sexual and reproductive health overall – notably through legal reforms “towards total decriminalisation and legalisation of abortion”, according the press release issued by UN human rights office OHCHR.

Recommendations 1a & 1b (page 21) out of many, many more:

1. The Committee recommends that the State party urgently:

(a) Ensure that access to abortion be provided in a manner that is in line with the Convention’s principles of non-discrimination against women and women’s substantive equality, and adopt legislation in line with a human rights-based approach to sexual and reproductive health and rights that acknowledges that women’s decisions on their own bodies are personal and private, and places the autonomy of the woman at the center of policy and law-making related to sexual and reproductive health services and therefore take the necessary legal amendments towards total decriminalization and legalization of abortion.

(b) Recognize the right to abortion as a fundamental right.…

SOURCES: UN News, 28 August 2024 ; PHOTO: © Unsplash/Kamil Gliwiński ; FULL CEDAW REPORT: Inquiry concerning Poland conducted under article 8 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention, 21 August 2024. CEDAW/C/POL/IR/1. Original in English. 23 pages. Also available in French and Spanish. SEE ALSO: OHCHR Press Release, 26 August 2024 + PHOTO