The first abortion rights activist to be charged for infringing Poland’s near-total abortion ban has said she is “shocked” she will be forced to face a “Kremlin funded, far right organisation” in court.
Justyna Wydrzynska, an activist from the Polish campaign group Aborcyjny Dream Team, is facing up to three years in jail due for helping a pregnant woman access an abortion.
The campaigner told The Independent Ordo Iuris, an anti-LGBT+ Polish Catholic organisation that has campaigned for a total abortion ban in the country, will “join the prosecution's case, to represent the foetus and also the abusive partner of Ania.”
Ms Wydrzynska added: “What kind of justice system protects a foetus and an abuser over a woman and her life?“
In 2020, the activist helped a pregnant woman, who claims she was being subjected to domestic violence, access abortion pills.
Ms Wydrzynska, who was charged in November last year, said being dragged through the criminal justice system has “been a roller coaster of emotions for me” due to “fear of what might happen”.
However, she also noted she has received an “outpouring of support” from Polish citizens and campaign groups, as well as from organisations around the world - saying the response to her case has exposed “just how much support there is for the right to choose abortion”.
Ms Wydrzynska, who saw her case last week adjourned until 14 July, added: “We hope that by the end of this case, not only will everyone know they can contact Abortion Without Borders for support, but also that far right groups and politicians will know they can't stop our work - or safe abortions.
“One thing that is still shocking to me is that the court has allowed a representative from the Kremlin funded, far right organisation Ordo Iuris to join the prosecution's case.”
Ordo Iuris denies it is funded or affiliated with the Kremlin.
Poland announced it was further tightening the nation’s already highly restrictive abortion laws in October 2020 - triggering the largest protests in the country since the collapse of communism.
Under the new laws, which came into force in January last year, it is now illegal to have an abortion in cases where there are foetal defects. Although terminating a pregnancy has long been illegal in Poland, prior to the change foetal abnormalities were one of the exceptions where an abortion was permitted, along with cases of rape, incest, or where the mother’s life was at risk.
Mara Clarke, who set up Abortion Support Network, told The Independent: “The woman ‘Ania’ did not have an abortion. Her abusive husband, who stopped her going to Germany for a procedure in a clinic, also intercepted the post that contained the abortion pills.
“While she did later miscarry - from the stress of the situation - she did not in fact have an abortion. That makes this whole thing even more farcical.”
Abortion Support Network, Ms Clarke’s organisation, delivers financial support, accommodation and consultation to women from Poland, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, the Isle of Man, Malta, and Gibraltar needing an abortion overseas.
In her testimony, Ms Wydrzynska said: “I know the importance of believing that you can make a decision for yourself. It's very difficult in an abusive relationship.
“For me, my abortion was the beginning of a fight for myself and the safety of my children. It took me three years to leave my abusive husband.
“By giving this person pills I wanted her to make this decision about herself and her life. My intention was not for her to have an abortion, but for her to choose for herself, so that she could decide her life while holding the pills in her hands.”
Amnesty International, a leading human rights organisation, has demanded charges against Ms Wydrzynska are “immediately dropped”, noting her case is the first in Europe where an activist is being prosecuted for helping a pregnancy termination take place by issuing abortion pills. Having a medical abortion involves taking two tablets.
Monica Costa Riba, Amnesty International’s women’s rights campaigner, said: “These charges are a shocking and deliberate attempt to shut down Justyna Wydrzyńska’s legitimate activism, despite the fact that she is simply trying to support the rights of women and all pregnant people to access safe abortions in Poland.
“Amid harmful abortion laws, activists like Justyna are essential to ensure pregnant people in Poland do not have to risk unsafe abortions that put their health and lives at risk. The Polish authorities must immediately drop all charges against her and fully decriminalise abortion, including helping others to have an abortion.”
At least two women died last year after they were blocked from having an abortion even though the pregnancy was placing their life at risk, Abortion Support Network said.
Speaking to The Independent about Poland’s abortion law last year, Antonina Lewandowska, an abortion rights activist based in Warsaw, said: “It amounts to torture in the middle of Europe.
“This is about forcing women to give birth to a foetus that won’t survive or will be born with a severe disability for the rest of its life. It may not have several body parts - children are sometimes born without eye sockets. It is a nightmare.”
Ms Lewandowska, who works for the Federation of Women and Family Planning, a Polish NGO which works with the United Nations and the European parliament, said in some cases parents will be raising a child who cannot speak or move and has no brain consciousness, as she warned the government had “sentenced women” to torture.
