Ipas > Chafing under anti-abortion law, Polish women speak out

Chafing under anti-abortion law, Polish women speak out

February 23, 2006

Under a harsh abortion law, Polish women have little choice but to navigate an often-hostile health system or seek unsafe abortion.

In the late 1980s, as Poland fought for its independence from the Soviet bloc, the world was transfixed. Today, decades after Poland freed itself from outside domination, there’s another, largely silent fight: that of Polish women struggling for abortion rights in a nation that repealed their right to choose.

For all practical purposes, there is no legal access to abortion in Poland. And without abortion, the Eastern European nation is a “Contemporary Women’s Hell,” the title of a collection of women’s stories of life under a rigid law that governs their bodies and endangers their health. The 10 stories were gathered by the Warsaw-based Polish Federation for Women and Family Planning, with Ipas providing financial and editorial support for the English translation.

In 1993, after years of a system that essentially provided abortion on demand, the Polish Parliament approved a new anti-abortion law. Today, only 150 legal abortions are registered annually in Poland. But given estimates of unsafe abortion in the country (the Center for Reproductive Rights believes that anywhere from 40,000 to 50,000 occur each year), there is clearly a considerable need for safe, legal and accessible abortion services.

Now, abortions are permitted in cases of rape; when the woman’s life or health is in danger; or in cases of severe fetal deformities.

At least, that’s the theory. In the preface, federation executive director Wanda Nowicka writes: “In seeking to exercise their legal right, even women who meet the legal criteria for abortion usually encounter obstacles that are impossible to overcome. This is mainly because doctors do not want to take responsibility for consenting to a legal abortion. Women are sent from one doctor to another, referred for tests that are not legally required, and misinformed about their health, as well as about the availability of legal pregnancy termination.”

Women are left to take their chances with unsafe abortion; seeking services abroad, a costly option; or dealing with a health system where the odds are stacked against them.

Take the story of 28-year-old Anna. A mother of three, Anna suffers from a serious vascular disorder that makes her legs swell painfully. The problem worsened with each pregnancy and interfered with her ability to use contraception. Her doctor ruled she was at risk for life-threatening blood clots. But when she asked for a legal abortion at a district hospital, she said, “the doctor found my request amusing. He said I must be joking.”

Anna continued: “I didn’t know what to do. Kill myself? I couldn’t do that because of my sons. I myself grew up in an orphanage. After returning home, I was so determined that I injected window-washing detergent into my abdomen. I fainted and vomited. Because I was afraid of being punished, I did not call an ambulance. Unfortunately, I did not have a miscarriage. Perhaps the detergent was too cheap. I regret that I could not afford Domestos [another detergent]. One of its ingredients is chlorine, which is more corrosive.”

Anna had the child and was forced to give up the boy for adoption.

For many of the women who tell their stories, there is little recourse. There is Barbara, who already had a son with a severe disability when she became pregnant with a daughter with the same illness. Even armed with a copy of the act allowing for pregnancy termination, Barbara was turned away by a physician who feigned surprise that such legislation existed.

Yet some of these Polish women are challenging their disenfranchisement. Among the women telling their stories is Alicja Tysiac, who was denied abortion though, due to an eye condition, a pregnancy could cause blindness. After suffering further irreversible damage to her sight, she filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights in 2005. The court heard oral arguments in the case earlier this month.

For more information, contact:
Kirsten Sherk
Senior Associate, Media Relations
e-mail: sherkk@ipas.org
phone: 919.960.5612
fax: 919.929.0258