“Not one more.” In Warsaw, Krakow, Gdansk and as far as Berlin or Oslo, the demand was displayed in capital letters on the signs of tens of thousands of demonstrators, Saturday, November 6. They all took to the streets to pay their last respects to “Izabela de Pszczyna “, a thirty-something who died in the hospital in this Polish city after being refused a voluntary termination of pregnancy (abortion).
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For Jolanta Budzowska, lawyer for the Izabela family, the young woman is the first victim (link in Polish) of a judgment of the Constitutional Court, taken just a year ago. In October 2020, the body aligned itself with the position of the ultraconservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, in power since 2015, by prohibiting abortion in cases of fetal malformation. Even when these malformations are “irreversible” and can lead to miscarriage, or death of the child soon after birth. However, 98% of abortions carried out in 2020 in Poland, among the European countries where access to abortion is the most restricted, were for this reason.
In practice, abortion is therefore almost prohibited and the number of legal procedures has dropped from 1,000 to 300 in less than a year. There are now only two authorized reasons for terminating a pregnancy : if it results from rape or incest, or if the mother’s life is threatened.
For the lawyer for Izabela’s family, the young woman was precisely in this second scenario. When she presented to the hospital after the rupture of her water bag, at 22 weeks of pregnancy, the Polish 30-year-old had almost 40 ° C of fever, says Le Figaro. Caregivers have “found that she had no more amniotic fluid and confirmed that the fetus had birth defects “, specifies Jolanta Budzowksa to franceinfo.
“She was admitted because doctors feared septic shock, a possible consequence of a miscarriage that seemed imminent.”
Jolanta Budzowska, lawyer for the Izabela familyto franceinfo
However, doctors refused to perform an abortion that could have “to spare him an infection”, points out the lawyer. “The child weighs 485 grams. For now, because of the abortion law, I have to stay in bed. There is nothing we can do, they are waiting for him to die “, Izabela wrote to her mother from the hospital, in text messages made public by her family. Aware that his “life [était] in danger”, she added in another panicked post: “I hope I don’t have sepsis or else I won’t get out of it.”
Izabela, married and already the mother of a 9-year-old daughter, did not actually get out. “After less than 24 hours in the hospital, she went into septic shock and died”, summarizes Jolanta Budzowksa. After ensuring that the patient had been treated in accordance with the legislation in force, the hospital Pszczyna finally fired two doctors for medical error, reports The world. An investigation, led by the Katowice District Prosecutor, is to determine whether the danger to his life was obvious to caregivers.
For its part, the Ministry of Health recalled on Twitter that “dIn the event that life or health is in danger (for example in the event of uterine infection, hemorrhage, etc.), it is permissible to terminate the pregnancy immediately “. But for Jolanta Budzowksa, abortion “was not carried out because the doctors were afraid of being prosecuted for illegal abortion”, an offense currently punishable by three years’ imprisonment in Poland.
Several NGOs also see this tragedy as a consequence of “the paralyzing effect” of the law on carers, which “overinterpret” text to protect yourself, note The world. “They know that if they fight to save the fetus at all costs, they cannot be blamed”, valued Krystyna Kacpura, president of the Foundation for Women and Family Planning (Federa), interviewed by the daily.
And the situation could get even worse. The Polish Parliament must indeed debate a citizens’ bill aimed at banning abortion whatever the circumstances. According to Release, the text proposed by the Pro Life Foundation movement provides for up to 25 years in prison in the event of illegal abortion. “We ask that there be ‘not one [mort] what’s more’, but we know there will be unless Poland makes abortion free, safe, legal and accessible “, alert Mara Clarke, founder of the Abortion Support Network, contacted by franceinfo.
According to this NGO, Izabela is far from being an isolated case. “We have been contacted by several women, including two since her death, who have been told by doctors that their pregnancy is life threatening. These same doctors have refused to help them.“, testifies Mara Clarke.
Thousands of women are therefore forced to abort illegally. According to UN figures cited by Release, it is estimated that between 80,000 and 180,000 Polish women make this choice each year, generally thanks to abortion pills ordered on the internet or sent by associations. The NGO Abortion without Borders has thus revealed that it has enabled 34,000 of them to access abortion since the entry into force of the judgment of the Constitutional Court in January, underlines Le Figaro.
Several thousand Polish women have also been supported abroad, particularly in the Czech Republic and Germany, with the help of feminist networks and organizations. “We provide them with information, support (…), or even financial assistance to go and have an abortion in other countries, if their health requires it. allow”, explains Mara Clarke to franceinfo. “Above all, we want to prevent women from resorting to unscrupulous and dishonest abortive industry channels. We have our lists of trusted clinics and hospitals“, add Marta Machalowska, of the Ciocia Czesia network, in the columns of World.
“Our needs keep growing. The demand is such that our network is expanding.”
Marta Machalowska, member of the Ciocia Czesia networkin the world”
During the march in homage to Izabela in the streets of Warsaw, Saturday, November 6, several signs carried the number “222 922 597 ” : that of the “Abortion Dream Team”, an informal network which helps Polish women to perform abortion abroad. One of the last recourse for women wishing to have an abortion without risking prison, or to lose their lives there.