A Polish activist found guilty of helping a woman get an abortion; This is an unprecedented case in Poland, a country with one of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe. Justyna Wydrzynska, who provided the abortion pill to a pregnant woman, was found guilty by the Warsaw court of “aiding” an abortion and sentenced to “eight months of social work from 30 hours a month”, wrote the Abortion Dream Team. The association he is a co-founder of is on Twitter.
Wydrzynska, who made a statement to the journalists in front of the courthouse, announced that she would appeal the decision by saying, “I do not feel guilty, I do not accept this sentence.” “This case sets a dangerous precedent in Poland, where abortion is almost completely banned, and provides a grisly picture of the consequences of such restrictive laws,” said Agnes Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International. “Justyna should not have been prosecuted because what she did should never have been a crime. Justyna showed compassion by supporting a woman who asked for help. Justyna, who championed the right to safe abortion in Poland, showed courage. Today she proves neither. A conviction must be made,” added Callamard.
In the country ruled by the far-right Law and Justice since October 2020, in Italy, their European ally Giorgia Meloni’s Sisters, termination of pregnancy is only possible when the mother’s life is in danger, in cases of incest and rape. These new rules are the result of a Constitutional Court decision that tightens what is currently one of the strictest abortion laws in Europe, while also eliminating the possibility of abortion in the case of fetal malformations. In the present case, a 12-week pregnant woman contacted Wydrzyńska’s association asking for assistance in traveling abroad to have an abortion. But she husband found out and forced his wife to stay in Poland. At this point the activist gave her abortion pills, but her husband noticed them and reported everything to the police.
Wydrzyńska was later charged under a 1997 law, making it a crime to “provide assistance to a pregnant woman to terminate her pregnancy or to persuade her to terminate her pregnancy”. Those found guilty could face up to three years in prison. According to Abortion Dream Team activist Natalia Broniarczyk, the prosecutor wanted a lighter sentence “because we are in an election year”, underlining that the majority of Poles now favor liberalization of the abortion law. According to a survey conducted in early March, 83.7% of Poles want a less restrictive law and only 11.5% of respondents want the current legal status to be preserved.
“This is an absurd and shameful sentence,” wrote Polish MP Robert Biedron on Twitter: “The Polish state has failed and the fanatics have won another war.” According to official data in 2021, less than 2,000 legal abortions are performed on average each year in Poland, but feminist organizations estimate that around 200,000 are performed illegally or abroad each year. In 2019, abortions, rape and incest cases, which endanger the life and health of the mother, amounted to 3% of the total.
Source: Today IT
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
