FEDERA Joins the Ministerial Women’s Health Panel
At the beginning of May, we were invited to join the ministerial team dedicated to improving women’s health security. The objective of the team’s work is to develop proposals for actions to enhance women’s health security, with particular emphasis on reproductive health and perinatal care. It consists of activists, medical professionals, and legal experts who specialise in both women’s rights and healthcare services. FEDERA will be represented on the team by attorney Kamila Ferenc.
FEDERA Successfully Supports a Doctor Who Lost His Job for Supporting the Right to Abortion
Thanks partially to FEDERA’s involvement, Dominik Przeszlakowski, MD, won his case in the Labor Court regarding his wrongful dismissal from the University Hospital in Kraków.
Dr Przeszlakowski is an excellent gynecologist-obstetrician who bravely stands by his patients. In 2022, he was suddenly dismissed from his job, which we believe was due to his involvement in defending human rights in Poland. During his 24 years at the University Hospital in Kraków, no complaints were filed against his work, only for his contract to be terminated overnight without justifiable reasons.
FEDERA works closely with Dr. Przeszlakowski – he has helped many who contacted us, and we have always been able to rely on him. Therefore, during the trial, we defended him – FEDERA’s Legal Team prepared an amicus curiae brief. In the brief, we highlighted international human rights standards, emphasizing the need to protect medical professionals from political pressures.
FEDERA at a public hearing during a sitting of the Special Parliamentary Committee
On 16th May, FEDERA’s vicepresident and the leading barrister of our legal team, Kamila Ferenc, participated in a public hearing regarding abortion. The hearing was a part of the agenda for the Special Parliamentary Committee that focuses on the changing of abortion legislation in Poland. Ms. Ferenc presented the organisation’s statement regarding the four bills that would change Polish anti-abortion law. She also emphasised the need for the law to be secular and correspond with social reality and needs rather than the personal beliefs of the policymakers. Her speech was widely commented on and quoted in social media, by civil society and politicians alike. The long-awaited change of the national prenatal testing program includes FEDERA’s postulates.
It was announced that, starting June 5, all pregnant women will have the right to free screening tests as part of the Prenatal Testing Program. Until now, this privilege was only available to pregnant women over 35.
At the beginning of the government’s term, we submitted a draft of addendums regarding prenatal testing to the Ministry of Health. These included lifting the age restrictions on women, among others. We are pleased that the Ministry is implementing our project and that the changes we proposed are finally coming into effect.
ECEC letter to the Minister of Health regarding accessibility of emergency contraception
Following a long debate regarding emergency contraception in Poland, as well as the presidential veto of a bill revoking the necessity of obtaining a prescription for the morning-after pill, a new programme dedicated to EC was proposed by the Ministry of Health. FEDERA has been vocal about the need to improve access to emergency contraception for years. The ministerial proposal to bypass the presidential veto by introducing the possibility of obtaining a pharmaceutical prescription is a step in good direction but it is not sufficient given the situation in the country. For this reason, FEDERA has participated in advocacy efforts undertaken by the European Consortium for Emergency Contraception (ECEC), which resulted in an internationally endorsed open letter being sent out to the Polish Minister of Health. The letter includes requests for improvement of accessibility to contraceptives in general, as well as expansion of the programme so that it covers different substances used as EC.