In Poland, which has been internationally criticized for its restrictive abortion laws, Health Minister Adam Nedzielski has intervened in the case of a 14-year-old girl with an intellectual disability who had unsuccessfully tried to have an abortion after being raped. “We are shocked by this case and our reaction to it is clear,” Niedzielski said Monday.
Doctors at several hospitals had refused the girl, who according to women’s rights organization Federa had become pregnant after being raped by her uncle, an abortion, citing a conscience clause.
Women’s rights groups want abortion laws to be relaxed
The case sparked calls from women’s rights groups and the opposition to relax Poland’s abortion laws. Since an almost complete ban came into effect in 2021, abortion in Poland is only allowed if the pregnancy is the result of rape or endangers the woman’s life or health.
However, the case of the 14-year-old made it clear that even in such cases it can be made difficult for women to have an abortion.
Aunt tried to have an abortion
According to women’s rights organization Federa, the girl was not aware of her pregnancy. However, her aunt found out about her uncle’s sexual abuse and sought an abortion. However, doctors at several hospitals in eastern Poland refused to perform the procedure, citing a conscience clause that allows doctors to refuse an abortion if it conflicts with their religious beliefs.
“Barbaric and Inhuman”
Only after Federa intervened for the girl was an abortion performed in a hospital in Warsaw. Several opposition representatives called for an amendment to the abortion law after the case became known. The conscience clause is “barbaric and inhumane” and should be abolished, said Katarzyna Kotula of the left-liberal party Wiosna. Center-left politician Barbara Nowacka of the Citizens’ Coalition announced an opposition bill to abolish the conscience clause in the Sejm.
In October 2020, Poland’s highest court, with the support of the National Conservative government, declared the abortion of severely malformed fetuses unconstitutional, paving the way for a tightening of the already highly restrictive abortion law.
Source: Krone
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