The significant Polish restrictions on the right to abortion decided in January 2021 put lives in danger, reports “Le Monde”.
Par LePoint.fr
Published on
– Modified
Ln January 27, 2021, a ruling by the Polish Constitutional Court confirmed the virtual ban on voluntary termination of pregnancy in Poland. By making it illegal to resort to abortion in the event of fetal abnormality, Polish law virtually banned abortion, except in cases of rape, incest and endangering the health of the mother. Two years later, finds The world, this new restriction is having a disastrous impact on the mental health of many women. But above all, some women are refused therapeutic abortions, although officially still legal.
Since January 2021, at least three women who should have had a therapeutic abortion have died, counts lawyer Kamila Ferenc, deputy director of the Polish Foundation for Women and Family Planning (Federa). This is the case of Izabela: this thirty-something mother, died in hospital in September 2021 following septic shock. Caregivers refused to intervene as long as the fetus’ heart was still beating.
“Some doctors do not trust the text of the law”
However, as Kamila Ferenc reminds us, “termination of pregnancy in the event of danger to the life of the mother is still authorized”. But “treating abortion as a crime with rare exceptions has led doctors to believe they had better refrain from performing it.” Thus, “some doctors do not trust the text of the law but what the government thinks of the law,” she laments.
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Beyond these tragedies, the change in the law has startling psychological effects on Polish women, says Federa. For two years, Aleksandra Krasowska, a psychiatrist member of the foundation, has seen an influx of “women who feel abandoned and suffer from symptoms of anxiety, depression, eating or sleeping disorders”.
Not to mention those who question their pregnancy plans: “We have already been contacted by women who would like to start a family, but do not feel safe in their own country”, says Kamila Ferenc. A drop in the birth rate was also felt from 2021, when Poland experienced 24,000 fewer births than in 2020.
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Contrary to the ultra-conservative Polish government, the population is nevertheless more and more favorable to abortion. According to an Ipsos poll from October 2022, 70% of Poles are in favor of legalizing abortion up to twelve weeks of pregnancy. A figure up 17% compared to a 2019 survey, prior to the last legal restrictions.