Polish abortion ruling ‘condemns women to torture’, claims human rights chief

After a court ruling in Poland led to a near total ban on abortion, a top human rights official has denounced the ruling, saying it imposes a severe limitation of women's rights and "condemns them to torture".
Outside the Polish Consulate in Edinburgh in October 2020, Scottish and Polish protestors wore clothes and carried iconography reminiscent of the 2016 Black Monday protests, when the Polish government attempted to ban abortion outright in the country.Outside the Polish Consulate in Edinburgh in October 2020, Scottish and Polish protestors wore clothes and carried iconography reminiscent of the 2016 Black Monday protests, when the Polish government attempted to ban abortion outright in the country.
Outside the Polish Consulate in Edinburgh in October 2020, Scottish and Polish protestors wore clothes and carried iconography reminiscent of the 2016 Black Monday protests, when the Polish government attempted to ban abortion outright in the country.

On Wednesday, the constitutional court issued a justification of a controversial October ruling which banned abortions in cases of foetuses with congenital defects, even when they are so severe there is no chance of survival.

Members of Poland's ruling Law and Justice party, which is aligned with the Roman Catholic Church, argued that it was a way to prevent the abortion of fetuses with Down syndrome, which have made up a vast majority of the legal abortions in Poland.

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Their claim is that abortion in this capacity is ‘unconstitutional’ because the Polish Constitution ‘protects human life’.

Protestors outside the Polish Consulate in Edinburgh after the controversial ruling in October.Protestors outside the Polish Consulate in Edinburgh after the controversial ruling in October.
Protestors outside the Polish Consulate in Edinburgh after the controversial ruling in October.

However, reacting to the news, Adam Bodnar, the human rights commissioner said: "The justification of the judgment of the Constitutional Tribunal is a growing drama for women.”

"The state wants to further limit their rights, risk their lives, and condemn them to torture," added Mr Bodnar, who is independent from the government. "This offensive is opposed by civil society."

The commissioners condemnation of the justification comes after the October ruling sparked weeks of mass protests across the world, including a rally of 300 Scots and Poles outside the Polish Consulate in Edinburgh.

Coat hangers were hung across the hedges outside the Edinburgh building on Kinnear Road to represent the violent and unsafe methods of terminating pregnancies women may be drawn to if they are not given proper access to safe abortions.

In Poland, reproductive rights activists have recently said that many hospitals had already started cancelling procedures which until Wednesday were theoretically still legal, fearing possible repercussions.

After the court published its explanation on Wednesday, Poland's right-wing nationalist government published it in a government journal, meaning a near total ban has taken legal effect.

Only crimes like rape and incest remain as reasons for legal abortions.

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Amnesty International called it "a terrible day for women and girls in Poland" and said bans never prevent abortions.

"They serve only to damage women's health by pushing abortions underground or forcing women to travel to foreign countries to access abortion care they need and to which they have a right," said Amnesty senior research adviser Esther Major.

Poland's conservative ruling party, Law and Justice, has long sought to further restrict abortion rights. Past attempts by parliament to do so triggered mass street protests which led legislators to shelve the plans.

The constitutional court is made up mostly of Law and Justice appointees who ruled on a motion brought by legislators from the party.

Large protests erupted on Wednesday evening across a nation traditionally seen as a bastion of Roman Catholicism but undergoing rapid secularisation among young urban residents.

Women's Strike, a women’s rights group, led the strikes across Warsaw and other cities across Poland with more anti-government demonstrations planned for Thursday evening.

The protesters are demanding a full liberalisation of the abortion law and the resignation of the government.

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