Threat of a Ban on Abortion In Poland -Call for Action

international | gender and sexuality | other press Friday October 27, 2006 13:29 by Chris Murray

Nicaragua Votes to end all Abortions.

This is a copy of a letter sent to Women's Activist's Groups re: Reproductive Rights in Poland.
At the same time the Nicaraguan Government has voted to ban all abortions on the threat
of thirty years imprisonment, after a campaign by the Catholic Church in that country.

The Nicaragua Story is in Today's Guardian. The Polish Letter is printed here.

The Email was sent out by a Reproductive Rights campaigner from Poland.
http://www.federa.org.pl/signatures

307 Votes are needed to Pass this ban into Law.The Parliament consists of 460 seats.

"Polish Vice Prime Minister calls for the Constitional protection of unborn life.
A real threat of further restrictions on the anti-abortion law In Poland is present.
According to the existing bill, termination of pregnancy is legal to save women's
life and health, when the fetus is badly deformed or when the pregnancy is
a result of a crime.

Although the law is already restrictive, there is a political initiative to make abortion
fully illegal. Roman Giertych, the Polish Vice Prime Minister also at the position
of Minister of National Education and the President of the League of Polish Families
(LPR) political party appealed on Saturday to all parliamentarians for their support for
the amendment of the article 38 of the Polish Constitution. Article 38 states that
"The Republic of Poland shall ensure the legal protection of the life of every human
being" the LPR's Proposal is to add the phrase "from the moment of Conception" at the
end of the sentence. Giertych claims that the introduction of the constitutional protection of
unborn life will be a milestone in realising John Paul II Testament. He also dared to
compare killing unborn babies with Holocaust.

The arguments began today (http://www.guardian.co.uk)

Giertych has already been assured by the second vice prime minister, Andrzej Lepper
that his party, Self -Defence (Samoobrona) will support the amendment. Both parties,
The League of Polish Families andSelf-Defence stay in power with the the last winning
winning party Law and Justice (PiS) One of the Prominent members of the PiS and the
Parliamentarian speaker, Marek Jurek stated on Tuesday that indeed there is such a
need to guarantee the protection of life from the moment of conception in the constitution.

Polish Federation for Women and Family Planning is organising action against LPR's
initiative. If you would like to support the protest against totally banning abortion in
Poland please sign up our open Letter (ends)

http://www.federa.org.pl/signatures.

In Nicaragua, Doctors who perform abortions face up to 6-30 years.
All Political parties voted for the ban ahead of the next month election.
Nicaragua is 85% Catholic.

The decision would endanger women's lives and criminalise doctors who tried to save patients
http://www.guardian.co.uk