Poland expands abortion access with new medical guidelines News
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Poland expands abortion access with new medical guidelines

Poland’s government introduced new guidelines on Friday concerning legal abortions up to the 12th week of pregnancy.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Minister of Health Izabela Leszczyna and Minister of Justice Adam Bodnar indicated that there were many challenges in securing a parliamentary majority to legalize abortion up to the 12th week. Regardless, they decided to issue specific guidelines for prosecutors and hospitals to emphasize that the state should not remain passive when it comes to providing women with the opportunity to legally end a pregnancy.

The guidelines state that the law defines “health” in a general manner so that a woman obtaining a medical certificate from a psychiatrist who establishes that her mental health is at risk constitutes a valid legal reason to obtain an abortion.

Prime Minister Tusk stated that these guidelines will change the practical enforcement of current abortion laws, ensuring that women who need a legal abortion have access to it. Health Minister Leszczyna explained that the guidelines involve not only safety for women seeking abortions but also legal protection for the doctors involved.

The current legislation allows women to get an abortion for only two reasons: i) when it represents a threat to life or health and ii) when pregnancy is a result of rape. However, Minister Leszczyna noted that the threat to health or life are two different aspects and therefore these guidelines will shape the interpretation of the law.

Earlier this week, the UN declared that Poland has violated women’s rights due to the severe restrictions on the availability of abortion. These recent accusations are based on the absence of an official guidance protocol for medical staff regarding abortion, cases of pregnancy-related deaths, difficulties faced in accessing abortion based on a threat to the woman’s mental health, medical staff not being sufficiently trained in abortion management and a lack of familiarity with the abortion care guideline made by the World Health Organization.

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