During the March session of the Human Rights Council FEDERA made a statement on the outcome of the Universal Periodic Review on Poland. The statement derived from the UPR report FEDERA and Sexual Rights Initiative submitted to the Human Rights Council for the purpose of Poland’s review.
In the statement we welcomed the robust recommendations addressed to Poland on sexual and reproductive health and rights and women’s rights (17 of them on SRHR only!), and we expressed our regret that these did not explicitly include comprehensive sexuality education and access to contraception.
Our focus in the statement was access to safe abortion services, and the decriminalisation of abortion which is imperative for the protection of life and health of all women in Poland, including adolescents, Ukrainian and other refugees, migrants, and persons in vulnerable situations. The current strict legislation that essentially bans abortion has led to deaths of women in Poland, and has put organisations who assist in providing information or access to services at risk of criminal charges. Statutory barriers and stigma around abortion place women’s and pregnant persons’ lives and health at risk, and undermine their rights to bodily autonomy and integrity, to be free from torture, to education, and to their right to self-determination.
FEDERA called on the government of Poland needs to take urgent action to:
- reform the law to decriminalize abortion and legalize abortion on request, at least up until 12 weeks of pregnancy, and adopt the necessary accompanying guidelines to ensure women can access safe abortion services;
- review the delivery of sexuality education in schools, which should be obligatory and comprehensive;
- guarantee access to modern contraception, subsidized from the state budget and unlimited access to emergency contraception without a need to obtain the prescription.
… and on States and all international community to hold Poland accountable for delivering on sexual and reproductive rights.
Human Rights Council – 52nd Session
Outcome of the Universal Periodic Review of Poland
Federation for Women and Family Planning
Thank you President,
I make this statement on behalf of the Federation for Women and Family Planning from Poland.
We welcome the robust recommendations addressed to Poland on sexual and reproductive health and rights and women’s rights, and we regret that these did not explicitly include comprehensive sexuality education and access to contraception.
Access to safe abortion services, and the decriminalisation of abortion which is quasi banned in Poland, is imperative for the protection of life and health of all women in Poland, including adolescents, Ukrainian and other refugees, migrants, and persons in vulnerable situations. The current strict legislation that essentially bans abortion has led to deaths of women in Poland, and has put organisations who assist in providing information or access to services at risk of criminal charges. Statutory barriers and stigma around abortion place women’s and pregnant persons’ lives and health at risk, and undermine their rights to bodily autonomy and integrity, to be free from torture, to education, and to their right to self-determination.
The government of Poland needs to take urgent action to:
- reform the law to decriminalize abortion and legalize abortion on request, at least up until 12 weeks of pregnancy, and adopt the necessary accompanying guidelines to ensure women can access safe abortion services;
- review the delivery of sexuality education in schools, which should be obligatory and comprehensive;
- guarantee access to modern contraception, subsidized from the state budget and unlimited access to emergency contraception without a need to obtain the prescription.
We call on States and all international community to hold Poland accountable for delivering on sexual and reproductive rights.