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Civil society sent a letter to EU Commissioners to raise concerns regarding the deterioration of the rule of law and fundamental rights in Poland. In light of recent developments and continued and persistent attacks against the rule of law and human rights in Poland, we believe it is critical for the European Commission to issue an update to its Reasoned Proposal under Article 7(1) of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) expanding the scope of the ongoing procedure to include violations of EU values as set out in Article 2 TEU. We commend the European Commission’s efforts to hold the Polish government to account for violations of EU law. Further action, however, is urgently needed, on account of the continued deterioration of the rule of law and fundamental rights in Poland, and repeated failures by the Polish government to comply with the Commission’s Recommendations and with the decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). We now respectfully request the European Commission to: issue an update to its Reasoned Proposal of December 2017 to extend EU scrutiny to recent developments and all Article 2 TEU violations; urge the Council to move forward with the ongoing procedure under Article 7(1) TEU, as requested also by the European Parliament in its September 2020 resolution;[1] call on Poland to implement all previous Commission Recommendations and CJEU decisions, and to restore the independence and legitimacy of the Polish judiciary, including the Constitutional Tribunal, without further delay.   For more information on the context in Poland please read the full letter above and the related content.  [1] European Parliament resolution of 17 September 2020 on the proposal for a Council decision on the determination of a clear risk of a serious breach by the Republic of Poland of the rule of law (COM(2017)0835 – 2017/0360R(NLE)), https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2020-0225_EN.pdf.

Our #BecauseSheCounts social media campaign asks decision-makers to put universal health care, human rights and equality at the core of all public policy and funding decision, amid the pandemic and always. To join our campaign, share our #BecauseSheCounts messages and visuals and tag us @C2030Europe! Ask your governments to continue to prove that solidarity goes beyond borders and should not be limited to European Union countries. Find our social media campaign package here.

Access to abortion care underpins women and girls’ reproductive health. And yet around Europe and Central Asia, they are faced with obstacles that threaten their safety, dignity and freedom. Governments and the international community should work to safeguard the right of women and girls to lead free and safe reproductive lives without discrimination and coercion.

The COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences have endangered everyone’s health. But in almost all European countries, women have been particularly affected by a significant restriction in access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) care, and abortion care in particular. Despite the difficulties they encountered, IPPF EN members and partners stepped up to protect people’s reproductive safety from the very start of the crisis. As healthcare providers, they innovated and adapted their own service-delivery models to continue to provide care to the most vulnerable. As advocates, they pushed their governments to take the necessary policy and legislative measures to guarantee access to care for all. 95% of our members reported having carried out advocacy during the pandemic. This factsheet highlights the crucial role IPPF EN members and partners played in the early months of the pandemic, both as healthcare providers and as advocates.

Abortion in Italy was legalized in 1974. It was the result of a power struggle for safe abortion between the women’s movement, conservative forces and the Vatican. The text of the Law (N 194) seems liberal and quite progressive but in reality, the feminist victory was not enough to ensure women’s access to care. Activists have been fighting for a long time to make sure women and girls in Italy have access to safe, dignified, and timely abortion care.  At the moment, women who access medical abortion in Italy are forced to be admitted in the hospital for three days, following outdated national guidelines. On June 21, 7000 grassroots activists gathered in Perugia to ask for the respect of sexual and reproductive rights for all in Italy. “We see a terrible backlash against sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). Women and men of every age demand to get what is written in our laws and want health care based on scientific evidence" said Marina Toschi, gynecologist and member of the Pro Choice RICA Network. And today activists gathered in front of the Health Ministry in Rome to ask for changes so that women could access medical abortion easier and be treated as out-patients as is the case in most European countries. “Accessing medical abortion in Italy is incredibly complicated. In France GPs and midwifes can deliver it in their private practice. In Portugal it can be done in ‘health centres’, where they give you the pills with guidance and send you home, knowing that you can always come back and in case of problems. We are wondering why is it so complicated in Italy?" continued Marina Toschi. Activists have been heard. The Minister for Health has asked that the guidance on providing medical abortion be changed so that women can access it easier.  Sandra Zampa, the Undersecretary at the Ministry of Health, has promised that these guidelines will be changed in the next month, adding: "The law [on abortion] is still under attack. We are a country that evidently has not yet digested, metabolized the abortion law N 194, and so at the first opportunity we try to put everything into question. And always at the expense of women". Next on the agenda for change Italian activists are also asking the government for free contraceptive care. Currently, only a few regions cover some costs for contraception for a few women, but this should be homogenized throughout the country. Contraceptive freedom should not depend on which country you live in, nor should it depend on your income. Women in Italy have been carrying for too long the financial burden of family planning. Access to contraception for all women in Italy is a matter of social justice and a prerequisite for achieving gender equality. Activists have gathered 80.000 signatures in support of this change. IPPF EN is proud to stand with Italian activists and support their continuous efforts to ensure that women and girls live free reproductive lives. Photo credit: Diana Crocetti Resources Press release RICA. Video of meeting between activists and the Ministry of Health on July 2. More on abortion care in Italy.   EPF Contraception Atlas 2019.     

Access to abortion care underpins women and girls’ reproductive health. And yet around Europe and Central Asia, they are faced with obstacles that threaten their safety, dignity and freedom. Governments and the international community should work to safeguard the right of women and girls to lead free and safe reproductive lives without discrimination and coercion.