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Violence against women / Urgent Interventions / Poland / 2018 / March

Poland: Polish Parliament Must Protect Women’s Health and Rights

22 March 2018

We are deeply concerned by relentless attempts to roll back the reproductive rights of women in Poland.

This week Poland’s parliament is debating a new draft bill entitled “Stop Abortion.” If adopted, this legislation will further limit the already restricted grounds on which women can lawfully access abortion in Poland. It will place women’s health and lives at risk and violate Poland’s international human rights obligations. 

We call on Members of Poland’s Parliament to listen to the voices of women across Poland and to reject this regressive legislative proposal and protect women’s health and human rights.

Poland already has one of Europe’s most restrictive abortion laws. Abortion is only lawful to safeguard the life or health of women, in situations of severe fetal anomaly or where the pregnancy results from rape or another criminal act such as incest. Even in those situations in which abortion is legal, multiple barriers combine to limit women’s access in practice. The latest “Stop Abortion” proposal seeks to ban abortion in situations where there is a severe fetal anomaly.

If the “Stop Abortion” bill is passed it will mean that abortion care will no longer be available to women in Poland when they receive a diagnosis of a severe or fatal fetal anomaly. Official statistics from 2016 show that in practice 96% of legal abortions in Poland are performed on these grounds.  Most women in Poland who decide to end a pregnancy resulting from rape or because their health is at risk are unable to access legal abortion care in Poland and must travel outside the country to do so. This bill would further hinder women, particularly those from low-income and rural communities, from accessing safe abortion care.

Since 2011, Poland’s government has launched repeated attacks on women’s reproductive rights. In 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2016 draft legislative proposals were introduced that contained total or near total bans on abortion. Following massive public protests, such as the Black Protests in 2016, these draft bills were defeated. 

Prohibiting women from accessing safe, legal abortion violates a number of human rights enshrined in international law, including the rights to life, health and health care, nondiscrimination and equality, privacy, and freedom from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. The European Court of Human Rights has previously ruled that the Polish government, in hindering timely access to abortion, has violated women’s rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. Numerous international human rights bodies, including the UN Human Rights Committee, the Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, the Committee on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, and the Committee Against Torture, have called on governments to remove barriers to abortion services and ensure access to safe and legal abortion.  

 

 

Signatories

1.     Abortion Rights Campaign, Ireland

2.     Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada, Canada

3.     Abortion Support Network, United Kingdom

4.     ACAI, Spain

5.     Agrupación de Madrid del Forum de Política Feminista, Spain

6.     Albanian Center for Population and Development, Albania

7.     A.L.E.G. Romania

8.     Alianza por la Solidaridad, Spain

9.     Alliance des Femmes pour la Démocratie, France

10.  Alliance for Choice in Northern Ireland, UK

11.  ALRANZ Abortion Rights Aotearoa, New Zealand

12.  Amnesty International

13.  AnA Society for Feminist Analyses, Romania

14.  ANCIC, France

15.  Asia Pacific Alliance for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (APA)

16.  Asociación con la A, Spain

17.  Asociación Feminista, Spain

18.  Association Défense de la Démocracie en Pologne, France

19.  Association des anciennes députées de l ‘Assemblée Nationale française

20.  Association for Family Planning and Sexual Health, Latvia

21.  Association HERA-XXI, Georgia

22.  Association Histoire, Femmes et Sociétés- revue Clio, France

23.  Association Mnémosyne, France

24.  AIED - Associazione Italiana per l'Educazione demografica, Italy

25.  Asian-Pacific Resource and Resarch Centre for Women (ARROW), Malaysia

26.  ASTRA Network

27.  ASTRA Youth Network

28.  Atria - Institute for Gender Equality and Women's History, the Netherlands

29.  ATTAC France

30.  ‘’AUT’’ LGBTIQ+ student initiative, Croatia

31.  Avortament Lliure i Gratuït. Dret al Propi Cos, Spain

32.  Avortement en Europe, les Femmes décident, France

33.  Autonomous Women’s House Zagreb – Women Against Violence Against Women, Croatia

34.  B.a.B.e. (Be active, Be emancipated), Croatia

35.  UK All Party Parliamentary Group on Population, Development & Reproductive Health, UK

36.  Beyond Beijing Committee, Nepal

37.  Calala Fondo de Mujeres, Spain

38.  The Catalan Family Planning Association, Catalonia

39.  Catholics for Choice

40.  Center for Community Mediation and Security, Romania

41.  Center for Health, Ethics and Social Policy, USA

42.  Center for Promotion and Defense of Sexual and Reproductive Rights, Peru

43.  Center for Reproductive Rights

44.  Centre Women and Modern World, Azerbaijan

45.  Center for Women's Studies of the Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, Croatia

46.  CEDES – Center for the Study of State and Society, Argentina

47.  Centro de Estudios e Investigación sobre Mujeres, Spain

48.  CGT France

49.  CHOICE for Youth and Sexuality, the Netherlands

50.  City University of New York Law School, Gender Justice Clinic, USA

51.  Clínica Dator, Spain

52.  Colectivo de Salud Feminista, Argentina

53.  Collectif 13 Droits des femmes, France

54.  Collectif des Féministes pour l'Egalité, France

55.  Collectif Féministes contre le cyberharcèlement, France

56.  Collectif Libertaire Anti-Sexiste

57.  Collectif National pour les Droits des Femmes, France

58.  Confédération Française Démocratique du Travail, France

59.  Conseil National des Femmes Françaises, France

60.  Culture, Egalité, France

61.  Dziewuchy Dziewuchom Berlin, Germany

62.  Diverse Voices and Action (DIVA) for Equality, Fiji

63.  Doctors for Choice UK

64.  DOK – Democracy is OK, Poland

65.  Drogheda Abortion Rights Campaign, Ireland

66.  El Colectivo Hetaira, Spain

67.  Encore Féministes! - Network, France

68.  Ensemble! - Political Movement, France

69.  Equidad de Género, Ciudadanía, Trabajo y Familia, México

70.  Equilibres & Populations (Equipop), France

71.  Estonian Sexual Health Association, Estonia

72.  European Association for the Defence of Human Rights

73.  European Civic Forum

74.  European Humanist Federation, France

75.  European NGOs for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, Population and Development

76.  European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development

77.  European Women's Lobby

78.  Family Planning and Sexual Health Association, Lithuania

79.  Family Planning Association of Moldova

80.  Fédération de Normandie du Planning Familial, France

81.  Federation for Women and Family Planning, Poland

82.  Fédération Laïque de Centres de Planning Familial, France

83.  Fédération Nationale Solidarité Femmes, France

84.  Fédération Nationale Sud Santé-Sociaux, France

85.  FEMEN International

86.  Féministes pour une autre Europe, France

87.  Femmes Contre les Intégrismes, France

88.  Femmes Libres Radio libertaire, France

89.  Femmes pour le Dire, Femmes pour Agir, France

90.  Femini Berlin Polska Berliński Kongres Kobiet Manifest Wolnej Polski (Congress of Women), Poland

91.  FILIA Centre, Romania

92.  FOKUS – Forum for Women and Development, Norway

93.  Fórum de Política Feminista, Spain

94.  Frente Ecuatoriano por la Defensa de los Derechos Sexuales y Reproductivos, Ecuador

95.  Freedom of Choice

96.  FRONT Association, Romania

97.  Fundación Arcoiris. Mexico

98.  Fundación ASPACIA, Spain

99.  Fundación Desafío de Ecuador, Ecuador

100.       Fundacja im. Kazimierza Łyszczyńskiego, Poland

101.       Gals4Gals Lodz, Poland

102.       Gender Alternatives Foundation, Bulgaria

103.       GERT – Gender Education, Research and Technology Foundation, Bulgaria

104.       Gender Scan, France

105.       Global Doctors for Choice

106.       Global Fund for Women, USA

107.       Great Lakes Initiatives for Human Rights and Development, Rwanda

108.       H.E.R.A. – Health Education and Research Association, Macedonia

109.       HowToUse

110.       Humanists UK

111.       Human Rights Watch

112.       ILGA - Europe

113.       International Campaign for Women’s Right to Safe Abortion

114.       International Commission of Jurists

115.       International Federation for Human Rights, France

116.       International Women’s Health Coalition, USA

117.       IPPF European Network

118.       IPPF Global Federation

119.       Irish Family Planning Association, Ireland

120.       Kazakhstan Feminist Initiative "Feminita"

121.       KOD - Independent Group Berlin, Germany

122.       Kollektief Antikonceptie, Belgium

123.       Komitet Obrony Demokracji - Niezależaa Grupa Berlin, Germany

124.       L'Assemblée des Femmes, France

125.       L'Egalité, c'est pas sorcier, France

126.       La Paille et le Mil, France

127.       Ladder for Rural Development, Malawi

128.       League for International Women’s Rights, France

129.       Legal Center for Women’s Initiatives “Sana Sezim”, Kazakhstan

130.       Lesbian Group Kontra, Croatia

131.       Les Effronté-es, France

132.       Libres Mariannes, France

133.       Lights4Rights, Belgium

134.       Ligue des Droits de l'Homme, France

135.       Lobby Europeo de Mujeres- LEM España, Spain

136.       London-Irish Abortion Rights Campaign

137.       Luna Abortuscentrum Antwerpen, Belgium

138.       Marche Mondiale des Femmes France

139.       Marche Mondiale des Femmes Belgique, Belgium

140.       Marche Mondiale des Femmes Midi-Pyrénées, France

141.       Médecins du Monde, France

142.       Medical Students for Choice

143.       Mediterranean Women’s Fund, France

144.       Mujer y Salud en Uruguay

145.       Novgorod Gender Centre, Russia

146.       Osez le Féminisme!, France

147.       PaRiter, Croatia

148.       PARI o DISPARE, Italy

149.       Planned Parenthood Federation of America

150.       Planning Familial 76, France

151.       Planning Familial National, France

152.       Plataforma CEDAW Sombra País Valenciano, Spain

153.       Polish Society of Antidiscrimination Law, Poland

154.       Population Matters,

Properties

Date: March 22, 2018
Activity: Violence against women
Type: Urgent Interventions
Country: Poland
Subjects: Discrimination, Torture and violence, Women’s rights

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