WGNRR solidarity statement for women and abortion rights activists in Poland
The Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights stands in solidarity with women and abortion rights activists in Poland that have fought against and continue to fight the near-total ban on safe abortion services in the country that results from the Constitutional Tribunal decision to reverse laws permitting abortion in cases of severe fetal disabilities.
Following the regressive ruling, access to safe and legal abortion will be limited to cases of rape or incest, or if the mother’s health is at risk. This results in a near-total ban as 98% of all legal abortions in Poland are induced for cases of fetal impairment.
Women in Poland have long suffered barriers to their rights to health and bodily autonomy because of their restrictive laws on abortion. The majority of women who induce abortions in Poland are forced to seek out abortions underground or abroad. This unpopular measure will put more Polish women’s health at serious risk and devastate their lives.
This highly-regressive policy happens amid a series of attacks on women’s rights and rollbacks on abortion rights. Just yesterday, the Trump administration led a virtual signing of the anti-abortion Geneva ‘Consensus’ Declaration, signed by a group of largely conservative governments, including the Polish government.
We condemn all attacks on women’s rights and the disturbing pattern of criminalization of women’s rights defenders expressing dissent. We call on the Polish government to stop the detention of abortion rights activists and reiterate our call to all governments to end the criminalization of dissent and stop the attacks, intimidation, harassment, imprisonment, and killings of women human rights defenders.