Poland is returning to back street abortions!

The problem with terminating a pregnancy does not only apply in the eastern regions of the country. Patients who have so far sought help in hospitals in large cities are sent back. Doctors are afraid of dismissals – says Krystyna Kacpura, director of the Federation for Women and Family Planning which could mean the return of unsanitory ilegal abortions!

From 2017, the number of legal abortions began to drop. In some areas, it can not be carried out anywhere.

Even in Warsaw, many women are being turned away.

The Federation for Women and Family Planning indicates that if this trend does not stop, Poland will soon function as countries with a complete ban on abortion.

Women who want an abortion are having problems finding a facility that will agree to perform the procedure. Until now, it seemed that this only applied to some centers in the east of the country.

However, data collected by the Federation for Women and Family Planning show that the situation is becoming more and more difficult in Poland. ” The law (the so-called abortion agreement of 1993) allowing for abortion in the case of fetal defects is, in fact, dead. Even if all the procedures are fulfilled, the doctors can refuse to perform the procedure ‘ explains the organization’s director Krystyna Kacpura.

She points out that there is also a lack of consistency as to how the procedures should look. There are different rules for each hospital.

– In one of them a conversation with a psychologist may be required, in another one a medical board must be assembled, and in the next one a signature of a husband or partner is needed, which seems to be completely absurd. Everything is designed in such a way as to delay the final decision as late as possible, which in effect leads to the situation that the date on which legal abortion is possible is exceeded – says Kacpura.

The expert indicates that doctors hide behind the clause of conscience.  However, the hospital is a public institution and such behavior is a clear violation of the law.

We teach women to fight for their rights and go to hospitals with a raised head. It is difficult for them, because they often feel that they are treated as criminals. Adding to this the fact that it is becoming harder and harder to find a place where the procedure will be carried out, their trauma deepens even more.

Until now, such a mainstay for women were outlets in Warsaw: the Bielański hospital and the clinical hospital im prof. In Orłowski. – However, data suggests that abortions have been restricted or even aborted themselves.

An activist points out that the Federation has sent inquiries about the current state of affairs to hospitals, NFZ and the Ministry of Health. She goes on to say ” We will fight because someone has to do it. Our abortion law is limited, but it gives us some possibilities. If it is to be disregarded, then the system will work as if abortion was banned from us”.

What happens when abortion is outlawed?

If other countries are a guide, abortion restrictions and bans won’t reduce the number of abortions that take place: According to statistics, abortion rates in countries where abortion is legal are similar to those in countries where it’s illegal. In parts of the world where abortion is illegal, botched illegal abortions cause about 8 to 11 percent of all maternal deaths.

Is this what Poles really want? Women forced to entertain back street abortions? Surely this can’t be right. There are certain circumstances when an abortion is the right thing to do. Let’s hope things improve otherwise it’s looking bad for desperate women and the unwanted children themselves. Let alone the suffering of children born with life long serious disabilities.