A new law in Poland banning abortion for babies who receive a poor prenatal diagnosis went into effect on January 27, 2021. Abortion is now legal in the nation in cases of rape, incest, and risks to the woman’s life (even though abortion is never truly medically necessary), and pro-abortion groups there are working to skirt the law to help women obtain eugenic abortions after a poor prenatal diagnosis.
The collective calls itself the Abortion Dream Team, and assists women in securing abortions abroad. Previously, they had mostly received calls from women seeking to abort “unwanted pregnancies,” but now they are receiving calls from women aborting their wanted children because of diagnosed abnormalities.
“It is our busiest time ever, we’re getting 40-50 calls a day, for us this is really new — and sad,” Justyna Wydrzynska said. “Normally we deal with unwanted pregnancies,” she added. “But now we’re also getting calls from people who find something wrong with the foetus and need psychological support.”
READ: Pro-life billboards unveiled in Poland after country bans abortion for fetal disability
According to Malta Winds, the COVID-19 pandemic has made it more difficult for Polish women to travel for abortions to the usual locations of Germany or the Netherlands. Instead, they are being sent to the Czech Republic. A political proposal by a Czech lawmaker that would make traveling for an abortion easier led the Polish embassy in Prague to send a letter to the Czech health ministry, warning that the amendment would see a “flourishing of abortion tourism in the Czech Republic” and encourage Polish women to “violate the laws of their own country.”
“Therefore, we consider it unfortunate if the legislative proposals legalising commercial abortion tourism are openly justified by the desire to circumvent Polish legislation protecting unborn human life,” the embassy said.
Women and men who learn their preborn child has a health condition or a disability are in a state of shock and grief. Pressure from doctors and outside sources as well as fear of the unknown can often lead them to make the decision to abort, convinced it is what is best for the baby.
But a study out of Duke University found that women who abort their babies due to a diagnosis of “incompatible with life” reported “significantly more despair, avoidance, and depression than women who continued the pregnanc[ies].” The study also revealed that there is a “psychological benefit” for women who carry their babies to term in such a situation.
Perinatal hospice is an option about which parents may be unaware. In Poland, a program run by psychologist and psychotherapist Father Filip provides around-the-clock care for babies with severe physical and neurological disabilities. In addition, a coalition partner in the Polish government has proposed legislation to create more perinatal hospices, and the Conservative Catholic Party has built the Project to Support Women. The goal of the project is to help mothers of babies who receive a prenatal diagnosis by providing them with private spaces for the birth of their child, and access to a psychologist.
Foundations are also available to help parents facing a prenatal diagnosis, and Polish citizens can help raise funds for these foundations by donating one percent of their annual tax to a beneficiary account that helps parents pay for medicines, medical exams, and therapies.
Women in Poland have many options to choose instead of eugenic abortion.
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