Proposed Bill Continues Roll Back on Reproductive Rights

Poland’s Parliament should listen to the voices of women across Poland and reject a regressive legislative proposal that would erode reproductive rights, over 200 human and women’s rights groups from across the globe said in a statement issued today.

The Parliament is debating a draft bill entitled “Stop Abortion.” If adopted, this legislation will severely 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, the groups said.

The statement calls on Polish lawmakers to cease relentless attempts to roll back the reproductive rights of women in Poland and underlines the danger that will be posed to women and girls in Poland if the regressive law is adopted.

Statement follows:

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


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


27. ASTRA Network


28. ASTRA Youth Network


29. Atria – Institute for Gender Equality and Women’s History, the Netherlands


30. ATTAC France


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


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


33. Avortement en Europe, les Femmes décident, France


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


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


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


37. Beyond Beijing Committee, Nepal


38. Calala Fondo de Mujeres, Spain


39. The Catalan Family Planning Association, Catalonia


40. Catholics for Choice


41. Center for Community Mediation and Security, Romania


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


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


44. Center for Reproductive Rights


45. Centre Women and Modern World, Azerbaijan


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


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


48. Centro de Estudios e Investigación sobre Mujeres, Spain


49. CGT France


50. CHOICE for Youth and Sexuality, the Netherlands


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


52. Clínica Dator, Spain


53. Colectivo de Salud Feminista, Argentina


54. Collectif 13 Droits des femmes, France


55. Collectif des Féministes pour l’Egalité, France


56. Collectif Féministes contre le cyberharcèlement, France


57. Collectif Libertaire Anti-Sexiste


58. Collectif National pour les Droits des Femmes, France


59. Confédération Française Démocratique du Travail, France


60. Conseil National des Femmes Françaises, France


61. Culture, Egalité, France


62. Danish Family Planning Association, Denmark


63. Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevölkerung (DSW), Germany


64. Development Aleternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN)


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


66. Doctors for Choice UK


67. DOK – Democracy is OK, Poland


68. Drogheda Abortion Rights Campaign, Ireland


69. Dziewuchy Dziewuchom Berlin, Germany


70. El Colectivo Hetaira, Spain


71. Encore Féministes! – Network, France


72. Ensemble! – Political Movement, France


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


74. Equilibres &, Populations (Equipop), France


75. Estonian Sexual Health Association, Estonia


76. European Association for the Defence of Human Rights


77. European Civic Forum


78. European Humanist Federation, France


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


80. European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development


81. European Women’s Lobby


82. Family Planning and Sexual Health Association, Lithuania


83. Family Planning Association of Moldova


84. Fédération de Normandie du Planning Familial, France


85. Federation for Women and Family Planning, Poland


86. Fédération Laïque de Centres de Planning Familial, Belgium


87. Fédération Nationale Solidarité Femmes, France


88. Fédération Nationale Sud Santé-Sociaux, France


89. FEMEN International


90. Féministes pour une autre Europe, France


91. Femmes Contre les Intégrismes, France


92. Femmes Libres Radio libertaire, France


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


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


95. FILIA Centre, Romania


96. FOKUS – Forum for Women and Development, Norway


97. Fórum de Política Feminista, Spain


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


99. Freedom of Choice, Slovakia


100. FRONT Association, Romania


101. Fundación Arcoiris. Mexico


102. Fundación ASPACIA, Spain


103. Fundación Desafío de Ecuador, Ecuador


104. Fundacja im. Kazimierza Łyszczyńskiego, Poland


105. Gals4Gals Lodz, Poland


106. Gender Alternatives Foundation, Bulgaria


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


108. Gender Scan, France


109. Global Doctors for Choice


110. Global Fund for Women, USA


111. Gramya Resource Centre for Women, India


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


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


114. HowToUse


115. Humanists UK


116. Human Rights Watch


117. ICRH-Mozambique (Centro Internacional para Saúde Reproductiva – Moçambique)


118. ILGA – Europe


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


120. International Commission of Jurists


121. International Federation for Human Rights, France


122. International Women’s Health Coalition, USA


123. IPPF European Network


124. IPPF Global Federation


125. Irish Family Planning Association, Ireland


126. Kazakhstan Feminist Initiative “Feminita”


127. KOD – Independent Group Berlin, Germany


128. Kollektief Antikonceptie, Belgium


129. Komitet Obrony Demokracji – Niezależaa Grupa Berlin, Germany


130. L’Assemblée des Femmes, France


131. L’Egalité, c’est pas sorcier, France


132. La Paille et le Mil, France


133. Ladder for Rural Development, Malawi


134. League for International Women’s Rights, France


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


136. Lesbian Group Kontra, Croatia


137. Les Effronté-es, France


138. Libres Mariannes, France


139. Lights4Rights, Belgium


140. Ligue des Droits de l’Homme, France


141. Lobby Europeo de Mujeres- LEM España, Spain


142. London-Irish Abortion Rights Campaign


143. Love Matters India


144. Luna Abortuscentrum Antwerpen, Belgium


145. Marche Mondiale des Femmes France


146. Marche Mondiale des Femmes Belgique, Belgium


147. Marche Mondiale des Femmes Midi-Pyrénées, France


148. Médecins du Monde, France


149. Medical Students for Choice


150. Mediterranean Women’s Fund, France


151. Mouvement Luxembourgeois pour le Planning Familial et l’Éducation Sexuelle, Luxembourg


152. Mujer y Salud en Uruguay


153. National Network of Abortion Funds, USA


154. Novgorod Gender Centre, Russia


155. Osez le Féminisme!, France


156. P&,D Factor, Portugal


157. PaRiter, Croatia


158. PARI o DISPARE, Italy


159. Planned Parenthood Federation of America


160. Planning Familial 76, France


161. Planning Familial National, France


162. Plataforma CEDAW Sombra País Valenciano, Spain


163. Polish Rationalist Association, Poland


164. Polish Society of Antidiscrimination Law, Poland


165. Population Matters, United Kingdom


166. Pro familia Bundesverband, Germany


167. Regards de Femmes, France


168. Regina Women’s Network, Lithuania


169. Reproductive Health Matters


170. Reproductive Health Training Center, Moldova


171. RESURJ


172. Roda – Parents in Action, Croatia


173. Romanian Women’s Lobby, Romania


174. Ruptures, France


175. Rutgers, Netherlands


176. Safe2choose


177. SALUS Foundation, Ukraine


178. Sarajevo Open Centre, Bosnia


179. Sensoa, Belgium


180. Sex og Politikk, Norway


181. Sexual Health Switzerland


182. Sexual and Reproductive Justice Coalition, South Africa


183. Sexual Rights Initiative, Canada


184. SIA Legal Team


185. Society for Education on Contraception and Sexuality, Romania


186. Society Without Violence, Armenia


187. Solidarité France Grèce pour la Santé, France


188. S.O.S. Sexisme, France


189. Spanish Federation of Family Planning (FPFE), Spain


190. Surkuna – Centro de Apoyo y Protección de los Derechos Humanos, Ecuador


191. Sustainable Health Development Center – VietHealth, Vietnam


192. Tendo’s World (Arts &, Health), Uganda


193. L’Union des Familles Laïques (Union of French Secular Families), France


194. Union syndicale Solidaires, France


195. Union Women Center, Georgia


196. Urgent Action Fund for Women’s Human Rights, USA


197. Väestöliitto – Family Federation of Finland


198. Voice for Choice UK


199. WISH Associates, South Africa


200. Women Enabled International


201. Women’s Front of Norway


202. Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR)


203. Women Help Women, Poland


204. Women on Waves


205. Women on Web


206. Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, France


207. Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, Italy


208. Women’s Link Worldwide


209. Women’s Resource Center, Armenia


210. Women’s Rights Center, Armenia


211. Women’s Room – Center for Sexual Rights, Croatia


212. World Organisation against Torture


213. YouAct – the European Youth Network on Sexual and Reproductive Rights


214. Youth Coalition for Sexual and Reproductive Rights


215. Young Women for Change, Nepal


216. Youth Champions Advocacy Nepal (Youth CAN), Nepal


217. 40 ans de movement, France