The Polish government expressed its shock this Monday (30) for the difficulties faced by a disabled teenager to have an abortion after suffering a sexual assault.
“We are shocked by this case and our response is unequivocal,” said Polish Health Minister Adam Niedzielski, classifying the case as “unacceptable”.
The teenager, whose identity has not been revealed, was sexually assaulted by her uncle, women’s rights group Federa said.
The young woman, who has an intellectual disability, did not realize she was pregnant until her aunt found out what had happened and started helping her have an abortion, Federa said.
Several doctors from hospitals in the east of the country claimed conscientious objection to avoid performing the procedure on the young woman. The pregnancy was finally interrupted in Warsaw, with the help of Federa.
The case sparked a wave of outrage and calls to ease abortion laws in this Catholic country, among the strictest in Europe.
Since January 2021, Poland only allows abortion in case of sexual assault or if the woman’s life or health is in danger. However, even under these conditions it is difficult to claim your rights in this member country of the European Union.
“No word of disgust is enough to define such behavior (…) but for us, the most important thing is to help the girl”, said Federa.
After the outrage provoked by the case, the opposition asked that the law be modified. “The conscience clause is an atrocious and inhumane law (…) and should be removed,” declared left-wing MP Katarzyna Kotula.
According to the defender of the people, Marcin Wiacek, the case reveals the deficiencies of the legislation because the hospitals should have informed the girl about the centers where she could have an abortion.
Performing the procedure has become virtually impossible in Poland since the Constitutional Court declared in 2020 that abortions for fetal malformation were unconstitutional.
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© Agence France-Presse