Polish abortion laws: Death of mother seeking change | Women’s Rights Issues
If Anka Adamczyk had a child, she would have left Poland to give birth.
“It’s very dangerous,” the 35-year-old told Al Jazeera in a phone call from Warsaw. “The consequences are so serious that I would not risk it.”
She is one of the women who is now struggling to conceive due to stricter abortion laws in the country, which have seen doctors refuse to have abortions despite the risk of death.
Following the Polish Catholic Church’s ban on abortion on October 22, 2020, along with other measures to encourage childbearing, dramatic protests – the largest since the fall of communism – began across the country.
In recent months the death of a 30-year-old woman has shocked the world and sparked protests across the country.
The woman, known as Izabel, is the first victim of a new wave of atrocities in Poland, and some fear that the same thing could happen to them.
In September, Izabel, from the southern city of Pszczyna, died of panic because doctors refused to remove her unborn child, who was found to be deformed. Meetings began in November, when the case became widely known.
Izabel Cedro, 34, of Warsaw, described life over the past year as “cold”, saying many women she knew were “scared and anxious”.
“It could happen to you, it could happen to your best friend, it could happen to your daughter,” Cedro told Al Jazeera, referring to Izabel’s death.
When Cedro needs an abortion, he travels to a neighboring country, such as Austria or the Czech Republic, to do so.
But he recognizes that not everyone has that opportunity.
“It will be especially difficult for women who live in small rural areas, where everyone knows everyone, or [those] who depend on each other for money, ”he said.
‘Irish moment’
It is women and people like this who have been helping for many years.
A coalition of six European organizations is assisting those from Ireland, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, Malta, Gibraltar and Poland who have to travel to obtain abortions.
Proponents of her case have been working to make the actual transcript of this statement available online.
In the past year, the group has helped 34,000 Polish women to abort, but Clarke emphasizes that Poland already had antitrust laws before October 2020.
“It was horrible, then it became horrible,” Clarke told Al Jazeera.
The country’s “compromise” law of 1993 allowed abortions only on criminal charges such as rape or incest, if the mother’s life was in danger – and not until January this year, when the new ruling came into effect – if there was a serious problem. fetal disorders.
Last year’s old exhibitions, Clarke said, have helped the fund become more visible.
“As thousands of protesters lined the streets, they called our telephone numbers… [it] at bus stops and, in my favorite churches, “he said.
Some Polish people wonder if Izabel’s death could encourage the release of abortion laws, similar to what happened in Ireland in 2012 following the death of 31-year-old Savita Halappanavar.
The death of Halappanavar due to septic miscarriage contributed to the eventual abortion.
“This could be a time of change,” said a Warsaw social media consultant, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “This could be our ‘Irish time’.”
According to a recent survey conducted by Wirtualna Polska, a Polish news website, about 75 percent of Poles surveyed seek the simplest rules of abortion.
At a rally in honor of Izabel in early November, which took place from the capital to Krakow and Gdansk, the hymns of “Her Heart Beats Again”, and “No More”, were also heard in the crowd.
But Poland’s president, Andrzej Duda, blamed the death on medical malpractice, not abortion laws.
He also said he complained that the protesters did not care about the death of the unborn child that Izabel was carrying.
“We always expect the best but planning the worst,” Clarke said. “Ever since the abortion ban was lifted, there have been individuals and groups who have helped people go to the abortions. As long as our phone rings, we will continue to help people. ”
