Today, instead of delivering justice, the court prolonged the legal persecution of Justyna Wydrzyńska by ordering a retrial. This is not justice—it is yet another attempt to exhaust and intimidate women human rights defenders (WHRDs) fighting for reproductive rights. 

Three Polish feminists on trial for pro-abortion protests have been found not-guilty. Although positive news, this is not a complete win for activists around the world. Marta Lempart, Klementyna Suchanow and Agnieszka Czerederecka-Fabin - three leading women’s rights defenders from the Polish Women's Strike were facing eight years in prison in Poland for exercising their right to peaceful protest. At today’s trial they were found not guilty. Though the not guilty verdict is a relief, we can’t ignore the fact that this trial never should have happened in the first place. These women’s rights defenders were unfairly targeted because of their work, with the prosecution attempting to use the courts as a tool of intimidation. Defending reproductive rights is not a crime. It is deeply troubling that they were subjected to a sham trial that not only robbed them of time, energy and money, but also affected their mental well-being. Cases like this are designed to silence activists. They are a dangerous attack on fundamental human rights and democratic values.     In future, we urge the Polish government, and all governments, to focus on protecting rights, not prosecuting those who defend them.   Marta Lempart said "I'm looking forward to going back to work. Thank you for all the solidarity from the international community."

Date: 3.10.2024 Time: 12.00 Courtroom: 224 Location: District Court in Warsaw, Solidarności 127 Press briefing after the verdict.   The criminal case against Polish Women's Strike pro abortion protests’ (2020) leaders is finally coming to an end in the District Court in Warsaw, Poland. Marta Lempart, Agnieszka Czerederecka and Klementyna Suchanow are charged under Article 165 of the Penal Code (endangering the public by organizing protests)  and Women's Strike leader Marta Lempart is additionally charged under Article 226 and Article 255 of the Penal Code. All three women face up to 8 years in prison. The announcement of the verdict will take place on October 3rd at noon in the District Court in Warsaw at 127 Solidarności Avenue (room: 224). This date is significant and symbolic for the entire movement that the Polish Women's Strike is. It was on October 3rd, 2016 that the Women's Strike organized the first mass protests in Poland in defense of abortion rights, which went down in history as Black Monday. At that time, women took to the streets of more than 160 cities and towns dressed in black in protest against the tightening of abortion law in Poland. On the 8th anniversary of the first Polish Women’s Strike protest (2016), activists will hear the verdict for their involvement in the 2020 100-days stress protests, brutally suppressed by the state police and secret services. It will be a verdict for their years of fighting in the streets, for the many days and nights spent protesting, in police cauldrons and in police detention. Judgment for their courage and determination, for their eyes burning with pain from the police gas, for their arms broken during the demonstrations, their spines physically damaged from the police batons. The judgment will therefore be symbolic not only for the anniversary of the Women's Strike, but above all for the fight for women's rights in contemporary Poland. The verdict will show which way we are heading - towards the shameful direction of maternity wards where women are dying, or towards the civilized part of Europe. Marta Lempart: Please be with us on that day. It is important that not only we, but also others who are still being dragged through the courts, know that they are not walking alone. Whatever happens this October 3rd or afterwards. See you there!   Media contact: +48 577 099 077 Marta Lempart [email protected]

We are highly disappointed and angered by the vote today in the Sejm, who rejected a bill that would have decriminalised those helping women access abortion care. The bill failed to pass with a margin of only three votes. Members of Parliament voted against the safety, dignity and freedom of Polish women and against their families and loved ones, who can still be prosecuted for helping them access abortion care, together with reproductive rights defenders, and healthcare professionals. Decriminalising abortion assistance and provision would be the bare minimum. Yet Poland remains a country where women are dying because they are denied abortion care and where family and friends need to risk their freedom to help loved ones. Poland continues to be at odds with the rest of Europe. Currently, Poland has one of Europe’s most restrictive abortion laws, with access to care only permitted in situations of risk to the life or health of a pregnant woman, or if a pregnancy results from rape. In practice, however, it is almost impossible for those eligible for a legal abortion to obtain one. Those who help women access abortion care risk a prison sentence of up to three years. Last year, a women's rights advocate, Justyna Wydrzyńska, was convicted for sending self-administered abortion pills to a pregnant woman, a gynecologist was charged with unlawfully assisting patients in obtaining abortion pills, and a man was indicted for helping his partner obtain an abortion. The proposed bill would have completely decriminalised abortion assistance throughout a pregnancy and provision up to the 12th week of pregnancy and also removed penalties for abortion provision in cases of risks for the health or life of the pregnant woman or of a high probability of severe and irreversible fetal defects. Polish elected representatives once again failed to listen to the voice of Polish citizens who are in favour of liberalising abortion care laws. We need to end this terror campaign against those who help women and, ultimately, legalise abortion care and guarantee access for all women who need it. IPPF EN will continue to stand in solidarity with those fighting for reproductive freedom. The fight is not over.

Protests will be held across Poland on June 14 as the news of yet another woman losing her life shakes Polish society. The 33-year-old woman, identified only as Dorota, went to the hospital after her water broke in the fifth month of her pregnancy. She died there of sepsis three days later. She was told to lie in her hospital bed with her legs up because this might help restore amniotic fluid and was given limited medical care and information about her state. No one from the medical staff explained to her or her family the real danger she was in and that there was little to no chance that the fetus would survive. Sepsis develops very rapidly in situations such as Dorota’s, yet lifesaving medical care was delayed and Dorota and her family were denied the right to know that abortion care would have been possible and would have saved Dorota from a death sentence. Prosecutors and the patients’ ombudsman in Poland are investigating the death of Dorota amid the family’s accusations that the doctors kept them in the dark and didn't take the necessary steps to save her. Two years ago, Poland's conservative government severely restricted access to abortion care, but the law does allow for doctors to intervene and perform an abortion if the woman's health or life is in danger. Yet, we have seen time and time again with the cases of Iza, Agnieszka, Anna, and now Dorota, that this law is killing women and hurting families.  Denying access to abortion care is a sinister form of gender-based violence which can amount to femicide. This law has real consequences on women, life and death consequences, and it’s beyond inexplicable how the ruling party can continue to cause so much needless suffering. But make no mistake, doctors continue to have the responsibility to protect the health of women. Fear of prosecution needs to stop being used as an excuse in a country where no doctor has ever been the target of law enforcement in cases where abortion care was provided when the life or health of women were at risk. Yes, those holding political power are responsible for violating women’s rights and causing this suffering, but doctors who do not help a person in need are complicit. The wellbeing of patients should come first not only when it comes to abortion care, but regarding all reproductive matters. Gynaecological and obstetric violence is widespread in Poland and we want doctors to speak out and work towards social change. Their silence and lack of action, their betrayal of the trust patients place in them, leads to tragedy. We ask doctors to stop sitting on the sidelines while their patients are suffering and even dying. And we ask the government to lift this draconian virtual ban on abortion care. See you in the streets.

Justyna Wydrzyńska was charged with supporting Ania, a woman in an abusive relationship, to access abortion pills. A survivor herself of a similar situation to Ania, she took compassionate action to help the woman. Justyna’s efforts were reported to the police by Ania’s controlling husband.  Ania was denied abortion care, but the stress caused her to miscarry. Justyna, a member of Abortion Without Borders and the Abortion Dream Team has been facing a legal battle for more than one year for facilitating an abortion that didn’t happen. Her closing speech in court follows: .... I stand here today because I gave someone my abortion pills. I sent them to another woman. It is an undeniable fact. I’m facing 3 years in prison. I didn’t do it out of my own initiative, because I do not distribute abortion pills. I knew that at that time, Ania was desperate. And I had a set of pills for my own use. The pills which I had for my own use, which I sent to Ania, are now the safest way to terminate a pregnancy in Poland. They are widely used in Europe and across the entire world by millions of people. They do not require anaesthesia, pose no complication risks, are safer than simple medical procedures. I know that from the reports of World Health Organization, which recommends unrestricted access to these pills, mifepristone and misoprostol. There are no contraindications against this. I sent my pills to Ania because I knew that she was in an abusive relationship - just like me a few years earlier. We were both controlled, emotionally blackmailed, lonely. We both have children and we wanted to protect them. I also experienced violence in a relationship. I was controlled, subjected to financial, physical and emotional abuse which were ubiquitous in “my” home. Us women, who experienced domestic violence, know what must be sacrificed to protect the safety of our children above all. I have three kids. Mothers in abusive relationships will do whatever they can for their children to sleep peacefully, for themselves to escape the constant, destructive tension.Us, who survive violence, keep our experiences a secret. We are ashamed of our lack of courage to fight for freedom, of allowing someone to control us. Often we stay - by choice and out of necessity. These obvious facts are tightly linked with the need to control one’s own reproductive autonomy. Living in abuse we often don’t realise that we have lost control over our bodies and the remainder of our lives. Because someone in our home decides for us, often against our will. I got pregnant by a man who hurt me, an abuser, and I terminated this pregnancy because I did not want it. My abortion made me realise I can control my own life, and I can regain that control. I felt that I can make my own decisions, and the fear I felt was not just for my body, but also for freedom which is a superior human right. I got divorced in 2009, after 11 years of marriage. I did it to save myself and my children. But the memories of abuse I went through are still present within me. This is not something you can just forget. And I do not wish this experience upon anyone. My own abortion was a breakthrough for me. I wouldn’t want to live in a world in which any woman is deprived of access to reliable information and simple human support. This has been motivating me in my activism, in my social work. For me this trial is symbolically a trial for anyone who ever provided support to a person in need.  I feel I do not stand here alone. My friends have my back, but so do hundreds of women whom I haven’t yet had the chance to meet. Here, in this courtroom, we touch upon basic human rights, such as the right to self-determination. I have the support of numerous human rights organizations with their vast knowledge on these issues: Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights. Their opinion is clear: I am a human rights defender. And they are not alone in saying this. Catholics for Choice, Belgian Parliament, more than 80 members of the European parliament, high ranking rapporteurs on women’s rights have all approached the Polish parliament stating that I should not be prosecuted. I should never be oppressed for my work protecting women’s life and health. Similarly, the International Foundation of Gynecology and Obstetrics demands my exoneration and stresses that my work is not only safe, but also endorsed by the World Health Organization.  Your honor knows about this, because numerous organisations filed amicus curiae letters in my case. These are not just expert opinions, but also the voices of hundreds of thousands of people who signed a petition to the prosecutor’s office. They all say the same. This trial should never have happened. I am thankful for this support. Yet I am here, Your Honor, sitting in the dock. And this last year has been very difficult for me, my family, for those close to me. I feel I am innocent. What I heard here in this room, the details of Anna’s situation, only convinced me that my actions were right. It made me realize that I should trust my intuition and take the risk of helping those who need it. I would never wish for any woman to be alone in these tough situations, without support, with her family acting against her. I believe that helping another person who asks for support as they fight for their freedom is our duty. It is what makes us human. And I will not abandon it, I will not be ashamed of it or believe that it is a crime. Your honor, we live in a country which doesn’t respect women. The polish anti-abortion law from 1993 was one of the most restrictive in Europe, because it forced people in unwanted pregnancies to have their abortions in secret. For them, activist organizations were the only respite from dangerous methods or peddlers. Initiatives like Abortion Without Borders are doing work which should have been the state’s job for years as part of the healthcare system. I’ve been working in this field for 16 years and witness how the state’s decisions and rulings worsen women’s situation. The anti-abortion law is not only cruel; it is fictitious. The law doesn’t stop people with unwanted pregnancies from terminating them. This is not my opinion - that’s what all abortion research shows, around the world.  A woman who doesn’t want to be pregnant thinks pragmatically; how to access abortion, how much it will cost, can she afford it. And she will have that abortion, regardless of the law and regardless of how safe the method she uses will be. I thought this way, so did Anna, so do 100 000 women in Poland every year, so do Ukrainian refugees. And they are right. After October 22nd, 2020, when the pseudo-tribunal ruled in favor of further restricting abortion access, women whose pregnancies have fetal abnormalities started to go to Netherlands for help. There, it is possible to terminate until the 22nd week of pregnancy. Women with diagnosed fetal abnormalities ask: “do I have to go to a foreign country, feel like a fugitive, why can’t I do it in a hospital here, and then go home as soon as possible?”. Doctors in Dutch clinics simply say: “Polish women are the largest group of foreign patients in our clinics. They have special needs, they are often scarred by their experience with polish hospitals. We need to calm them down and reassure them that they will receive help”. The medical condition of women travelling to Dutch clinics worsens constantly since 2020. There are very many people who need an abortion here and now, who are in danger, not just from the cruel law, medical negligence, cowardice of doctors, but also from being in abusive relationships, under constant supervision. Being free from an unwanted pregnancy allows them to be free from abuse in general.  That’s what it was for me, it was a factor in realising how I am being confined, how much I need freedom and the ability to decide for myself. I wanted the same for Anna. I wanted her to be free and control her life and body.  I didn’t want her to risk her life when the solution was so simple and medically safe  I do not want anyone to go alone through a dangerous process of an unsafe abortion when it is possible to do it safely, without stigma. I don’t want any of us to be forced to abandon her right to freedom and self-determination.   I was driven by the will to help when no one else wanted to or could help. For me, helping Ania was an obvious, decent and honest thing to do. It’s good to be honest, even if it doesn’t always pay off. If I knew more about Ania’s situation, I wouldn’t just have sent her the pills. I would have stayed in touch to support her during the abortion, so she wouldn’t feel alone. So she would have someone who would listen, stay with her, hold her hands. We are here to decide on my guilt. I am not guilty and I will say it out loud: the State is guilty, of abandoning Ania, Iza from Pszczyna, Agnieszka from Częstochowa, and millions of women across the country. I ask the court for acquittal.   Originally published by the Abortion Dream Team here.

Today, the District Court in Warsaw found Justyna Wydrzyńska guilty for helping a woman in an abusive relationship to access abortion pills. She was sentenced to eight months of community service for 30 hours/month and will now have a criminal record. "We are deeply saddened by the decision and outraged by the entire process. Condemning a person for an act of empathy and compassion towards another human being is unconceivable. We are in awe of Justyna’s bravery in the face of 18 months of judicial persecution by an apparatus targeting anyone who dares challenge the state’s immoral attacks on healthcare and human rights", said Irene Donadio of the International Planned Parenthood Federation, European Network (IPPF EN).

Women’s rights activist Justyna Wydrzyńska faces up to three years in prison after being charged with providing abortion pills to a woman who wanted them – the first case of its kind in Europe. In 2020, Wydrzyńska, a member of Polish activist group Abortion Dream Team, answered a request for abortion pills from a woman whom she said seemed to be in an abusive relationship and had decided not to go through a full pregnancy. But the abortion never took place – the pills were intercepted by the woman’s husband, who called the police. Wydrzyńska was arrested and charged with facilitating an abortion. Today, she hopes her case will shine a light on Poland’s strict abortion laws – and the way the judicial system is being used to persecute rights defenders who protest them. At least six women are reported to have died after being denied an abortion since Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal imposed a near-total ban on abortion care just over two years ago. At the time, the ruling prompted massive demonstrations across the country. The initially peaceful protesters were met with excessive force from authorities, who used tear gas, pepper spray and physical assault to subdue them. These attacks were followed by arrests and charges for those defending women’s rights.  Today, the judicial persecution of rights defenders in Poland continues. Prosecutors with a political agenda have brought spurious charges against activists, and cases have been heard by judges loyal to the ruling Law and Justice party. We at the International Planned Parenthood Federation European Network (IPPF EN) have spoken to several activists in Poland as part of our Defend the Defenders campaign, which highlights their plight, fundraises for psychological support and legal assistance in court cases, and asks the European Union to take action to protect activists. Wydrzyńska is one such activist. Speaking to IPPF EN, she said: “Empathy shouldn’t be punished, especially when someone is asking you for help. I feel there is only one chance to show that the law is extremely harmful. Even if I get a jail sentence, I am ready. I think this battle is bigger than my freedom.” Under Polish law, people who have abortions are not criminalised, but those who directly help them are. The government and ultra-conservative right-wing groups want harsher punishments for abortion rights activists. They also target family members, partners and friends who try to help women access abortion care. Wydrzyńska says Poland’s Ministry of Justice has appointed a right-wing judge to her case, which has been adjourned twice after a witness failed to attend, with the next hearing scheduled for next month. It has been reported that at the trial, the judge will allow Ordo Iuris – a Polish fundamentalist organisation that campaigns against abortion rights and LGBTIQ rights in the country – to stand with the prosecution to represent the rights of the foetus.   Persecuting rights defenders Activist Marta Lempart was charged under Covid laws – along with two other women, Klementyna Suchanow and Agnieszka Czerederecka-Fabin – for taking part in the 2020 anti-abortion protests. Each woman faces eight years in prison. Lempart said her case has already been tried once and dismissed by a judge due to a lack of evidence. Now, the prosecution is trying again. Lempart has 106 charges brought against her, including offences relating to breaking COVID regulations, blocking traffic, hanging posters, and littering in public. Most of these charges are pending due to a stand-off between Poland and the EU. Poland’s funding from the bloc has been frozen for over a year, amid concerns from the bloc over the judicial independence in the country. If the reforms demanded by the EU come to fruition, charges against activists like Lempart are likely to be dropped – but in the meantime, the toll on activists’ mental health and finances is severe. Speaking to the IPPF EN, Lempart said: “We can’t count on courts to be fair for long as the crackdown of the independent judiciary in Poland is happening at the maximum speed. The judges' removals from the cases and replacements, based on political decisions of the ruling party are a daily occurrence. “The government now aims for full power to decide which judge gets which case, taking overhead positions in all possible courts. Legal fees and misdemeanour fines are also hefty – if prosecutors can’t put people in jail, they want to cripple them financially.” To make matters worse, the political atmosphere created and fostered by the ruling Law and Justice party means many people feel it is acceptable to intimidate rights defenders in other ways. Some activists have been sent death threats and bomb threats by neo-nazi groups, and Lempart was assigned police protection after an escalating threat was made against her life. And alongside her numerous charges, Lempart has also had a libel case filed against her by the ultra-conservative organisation, Ordo Iuris.   Glimmers of hope It is not just activists under attack – journalists, politicians, independent judges and ordinary citizens in Poland also suffer from politicised assaults. In one case, lawmaker Joanna Scheuring-Wielgus faces two charges for participating in a 2020 protest, in which she held up a banner supporting abortion in a church. The prosecutor’s office in the city of Toruń charged Scheuring-Wielgus with ‘offending religious feelings’ and ‘malicious interference with religious worship’, according to Human Rights Watch. The hearing will take place in January, with each offence – for which she has pleaded not guilty – carrying a penalty of up to two years in prison. In another worrying development, Polish freedom fighters seem to have lost an ally due to recent changes in the Ombudsman’s Office, the supposedly neutral body appointed to investigate complaints made against public officials. The ombudsman, Marcin Wiącek, has dismissed his deputy, Hanna Machińska, who was known for protecting the rights of refugees on the Polish-Belarusian border and for intervening on behalf of protesters detained during pro-abortion and pro-LGBTIQ rights’ protests. Machińska will be replaced with Wojciech Brzozowski, a specialist in religious law. Meanwhile, the EU waits for Poland to meet the milestones its commission set for releasing the Cohesion and Covid Recovery Funds, now frozen due to severe breaches of the rule of law and fundamental rights. But MEPs have expressed concern that the commission’s criteria was not enough – and urged the EU council not to release the funds until Poland has fully complied with EU law. Lempart agrees, believing the EU’s approach emboldens the Law and Justice party. She explained: “The milestones are not in compliance with the EU Court of Justice rulings, so the EU is breaking its own laws. “It sends a clear message that they don’t care about the rule of law in Poland, and there is now an attempt to fast-track cases against protesters before these new changes are implemented.” We must ask ourselves – is this the Europe we want to live in, where rights are negotiable, where women are forced through pregnancy, and rights defenders are dragged to court by fundamentalist governments?  But hope remains, and with Polish parliamentary elections coming up next year, people have a chance to push for positive change. Support for liberalising abortion laws has risen from 37% in 2016 to 70% in 2022, while support for same-sex marriage has risen from 18% to 52% over the same time period.  “Moderate conservatism has been hijacked but the Law and Justice party is destroying itself,” said Lempart. “People saw the violence we faced. There has been a huge wave of support from people who don’t want to be part of the anti-women and anti-LGBT+ campaigns. They are too dogmatic, there must be a middle ground. People are moving more towards love and not hate.”   Originally published in Open Democracy. Credit photo: Spacerowiczka

‘They want to leave women alone with their ‘problem,’ says Polish women’s rights defender, Justyna of the ruling ultra-conservative party in Poland.  Justyna, a mother of three, works in an increasingly hostile environment, one in which women’s sexual and reproductive rights (SRHR) are being completely dismantled. Poland has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe, only permitting abortion when the life or health of the pregnant woman is endangered or in the case of rape or incest. On 22 October 2020, the Polish Court went further and ruled that abortions could no longer happen in cases of foetal illness or abnormality. The only way for women who need a safe abortion is to rely on NGOs and women’s rights defenders, like Justyna, who enable self-administrated abortions; a safe and easy way avoid being forced through a pregnancy.