Poland’s top court has ruled that abortion in the case of disability is unconstitutional and that unborn children with a foetal anomaly must be protected. This latest ruling means that almost all abortion in Poland is banned.
After the ruling comes into effect, abortion will only be permissible in Poland in cases of rape, incest or if the mother’s life is thought to be at risk. It is reported that these circumstances will make up only 2% of abortions.
Just over 1000 abortions were carried out in Poland in 2019. Following the court ruling, the country will have some of the strictest abortion laws in Europe.
Discussing the verdict, Judge Piskorski said: “A child in a prenatal period of life, as a human being, who enjoys inherent and inalienable dignity, is an entity with the right to life, and the legal system must guarantee proper protection of this central good…”
Pro-life people in Poland gathered outside the court yesterday to hear the ruling. When the verdict was announced, the pro-life crowd broke into applaud and were heard shouting “thank-you” and “Poland is on the side of life.”
Currently, there is strong support for pro-life measures in Poland, according to recent polling results.
A CBOS poll found that 75% of Polish people think abortion is “always wrong and can never be justified”. Meanwhile, only 7% thought there was “nothing wrong with it and could always be justified."
SPUC comment
An SPUC spokesperson said: “Weeding out and killing unborn children for having a disability is a barbaric form of discrimination which has no place in a civilized society. This decision is a positive step in the right direction for Poland and unborn humans. We hope that full legal protection will soon be restored for every unborn child.
“The UK’s current law, one of the most extreme in Europe, allows unborn children who are suspected of possessing a foetal anomaly to be aborted until birth. 3394 unborn children were killed In the UK last for having a possible disability.
“We commend the Polish court for their decision to end eugenic abortion and hope that other countries will soon recognise the humanity of the unborn child and follow suit by restoring full legal protection for all human life.”
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