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In Poland, thousands of protesters raised their voices against the abortion law that is in force in this country. This, after learning of the death of a pregnant woman, whose fetus had abnormalities, but who could not attend the interruption due to legal issues. A controversial Supreme Court ruling in October 2020 determined that abortion is only allowed if the pregnancy is the result of rape or if the mother’s life is in danger.
This Saturday, November 6, thousands of protesters took to the streets of Poland to denounce the restrictive abortion law that governs the European country. This, after learning of the death of Izabela, a 30-year-old woman, whose pregnancy had medical problems but could not be interrupted while the fetus’s heart was still beating.
The protesters raised banners with the woman’s face and slogans such as “could be alive”, “women’s rights, human rights.”
In Warsaw, the march began in front of the Constitutional Court. Then they went to the Ministry of Health. Participants in this protest were, among others, Rafal Trzaskowski, the mayor of the capital and Donald Tusk, the head of the opposition Civic Platform party and former president of the European Council.
Tusk said that “a doctor who wants to save a woman’s life has to wonder if Mr. Ziobro will put him in jail.” This, in reference to the Minister of Justice, of the ultra-conservative Law and Justice Party (PiS). And he called on more people to join the protests. The rallies against the abortion law are expected to continue this Sunday and Monday.
The death of Izabela
Izabela died in September, but her family only broke the news last week. The reason: septic shock due to the impossibility of terminating her 22-week pregnancy, despite the fact that her fetus had serious abnormalities and insufficient amniotic fluid to survive. It happened in a hospital in Pszczyna, in southern Poland.
In an interview for the private station TVN24, Izabela’s mother, Barbara, confessed that her daughter had told her by text message “that they would wait until the baby dies because they had no other option.”
While several activists claim that she is the first woman to die as a result of the abortion failure, the government says it is medical malpractice. Last Friday, the Pszczyna hospital reported that the two doctors present at the time of Izabela’s departure had been suspended.
Also, last week, the regional prosecutor’s office in Katowice, also in the south of the country, opened an investigation into the case, while the Ministry of Health has ordered an audit to determine whether the hospital was negligent or not.
But that is not enough for the lawyer for the victim’s family, who is demanding a change in Polish law.
Abortion in Poland
In Poland, one of the most devout Catholic countries in Europe, abortion is only allowed if the pregnancy is the result of rape or if the mother’s life is in danger. Before, it could also be applied in case of irreparable defects of the fetus. However, a controversial Supreme Court ruling in October 2020 removed the latter.
And although Polish President Andrzej Duda has proposed changing the law to allow abortion in the event of fetal malformation, Poland’s ruling Law and Justice party has yet to pass the bill.
Izabela’s death has exposed this controversial law.
With EFE, AP and Reuters
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