In Poland, the right to abortion is limited, and the Conservative government wants to limit it even more. What does this mean for the women there? Stories from within.
On November 4, 2020, we published an article about the women's strike in Poland, which led the current government to suspend a court decision further restricting access to abortion.
"There is a debate going on, and it would be good to take the time to dialogue and find a new position in this situation, which is difficult and is very emotional." said Michał Dworczyk, member of the Polish government.
Poland's abortion law is already the strictest in Europe, and the ruling ruled that abortion illegal even in the case of a fetus with severe and irreversible deformities. This type of situation leading to abortion was almost the only one legally recorded for abortions in this country.
On social networks, many people react and contact us to take stock of the situation and to alert us: the fight for access to abortion and even to contraception continues more than ever!
"We are far from a victory. We are waiting."
It started with Gautier, who has lived in Poland for three years and writes to us to testify how complicated the situation is for Polish women: "We are far from a victory. We are waiting.
The current questions relate to a commitment to roll back the government and the Constitutional Council (which was in part appointed by the same government). The hope in the short term is that the decision will be abandoned – not just postponed. We are far from talking about authorizing abortion in wider cases (as is the case everywhere else in Europe), but rather about the protection of the three cases in which it is authorized (rape or incest, danger to mother, non-viable fetus). "
He puts us in touch with Magdalena, his Polish companion. Magdalena tells us how complicated even access to contraception can be. In the fall of 2018, she made an appointment with a GP, and asked if she could refill her pill prescription. This doctor, who has the capacity to prescribe him refuses however. The reason ? "She has the right. Contraception went against her values, and this is a legal ground for refusal in Poland. " Gautier and Magdalena say that some of their friends were also refused the morning after pill for the same reasons. "It is absurd that this law exists! It happened to me when I live in the capital. Think of people living in small towns or villages where there may only be conservative doctors."
Talk about it as much as possible
Women demonstrated en masse, supported by feminist groups like Strajk Kobiet (literally the Women's Strike). Natalia Pancewicz, one of the initiators of the movement answered our questions. The future looks bleak for Polish women.
"We are afraid that our country will become, and it already is for some things, an impossible place to live. The Constitutional Court has put on the table a total ban on abortion, we have no-go areas for LGBT people, our health system is at the end of its rope (…), the Minister of Education is misogynist and homophobic and nothing is being done about the climate crisis. The government is not content to fail in every way, it destroys everything without respecting human rights. More and more young people are leaving the country because they cannot see themselves living here and the prospects are close to zero. "
How to help, from the international? Natalia Pancewicz, like Gautier and Magdalena, calls for talking as much as possible about the situation. "All solidarity actions help us: posting films, photos, writing about our situation. Women can also put pressure on their political staff to listen attentively to what we (Polish) citizens have in their minds. tell, and not our government's lies. You can also always support us by donating money to our fundraising campaigns. "
You can support them financially here through this NGO which fights for democracy in the country and there by giving directly to the Women's Strike Movement.