The media has drawn much attention to the US Supreme Court's decision to uphold various US states right to restrict abortion. The media has also been regularly reporting the plight of Ukrainian refugees who fled the Russian invasion. But the media has failed to highlight that some Ukrainian women are being denied abortions by the Polish government in whose country they have sought refuge.
The death of a husband in war, rape by Russian soldiers and an uncertain future as a refugee are just some of the tragic reasons Ukrainian women have sought abortions in neighbouring Poland. Polish rights groups have seen a surge in calls from Ukrainians wanting an abortion.
Poland's top court ruled in 2020 that abortions due to foetal defects was unconstitutional, further tightening Poland's already restrictive anti-abortion laws. Abortion is only permitted when a woman's life or health is endangered, or in cases of rape and incest. In reality, activists say it is extremely difficult to access an abortion on those legal grounds.
One of the main groups that Poles work with is the cross-European, Abortion Without Borders network. It has helped over 550 Ukrainian refugees in Poland since March, by providing information, supplying abortion pills or helping women travel to clinics and hospitals abroad.
"What all of the refugees tell us is how shocked they are about the situation in Poland," said Zuzanna Dziuban from Berlin-based Ciocia Basia, which is part of the network. "They did not realise that a country which is supposedly democratic, European ... has this kind of restrictive anti-abortion law," she added, referring to those who travelled to Germany from Poland to have an abortion.
Dziuban said the overturning of Roe v Wade in the United States showed how reproductive rights anywhere in the world can easily be rolled back.
"The one thing that we learned ... is that it can be taken from us at any moment, wherever we are."
Polish activists help Ukrainian refugees, women access abortions (trust.org)
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