Letter to the Social Insurance Institution
For several weeks now, we have been receiving reports of increased interest from Social Insurance Institution inspectors in women who have decided to take sick leave after terminating their pregnancies. The women who have contacted us report that inspectors are asking questions about intimate details of their abortion or miscarriage, forcing them to relive an experience that for many of them will be a traumatic memory.
In the case of employment under an employment contract, a person who decides to have an abortion in a public hospital is entitled to shortened maternity leave. A specialist doctor may also issue the patient with an appropriate sick note for the period of convalescence – not only physical but also mental. In many cases, shortened leave is necessary to regain peace and balance after what is often a difficult experience of terminating a pregnancy in a public hospital.
We also observe with concern the practice of withholding or questioning the payment of benefits to pregnant women and women who have recently given birth. This applies in particular to situations where authorities take control measures leading to long-term deprivation of livelihood during a period of particular vulnerability and increased health and care needs.
In our letter, we called for the introduction of solutions – in particular clear guidelines for inspectors – that will ensure women’s peace of mind and respect for their dignity. Inspectors cannot expect insured persons to give detailed accounts of their experiences of terminating a pregnancy, they cannot question their decision-making, and they cannot instil fear in people when they are exercising their legal rights to benefits.
Another penalty for the Police in the case of Joanna from Kraków
We’ve got it! Another decision has just been made in favour of Joanna from Kraków.
As a reminder, Joanna ended her pregnancy using medication in 2023. A few days later, she contacted her psychiatrist to report a deterioration in her health, which was not, however, related to the termination of her pregnancy. In response to the phone call, the doctor breached medical confidentiality and notified the police about the abortion. Officers intervened at the hospital, treating Joanna as a suspect. Shortly after the incident, the police made her sensitive data public.
The case was reviewed by the President of the Personal Data Protection Office (UODO), who imposed a total fine of PLN 78,000 on the Krakow Police Commander for unlawful disclosure in a press release of special category personal data, including information about Joanna’s mental and reproductive health,
The UODO statement indicated that the police had no right to access internal systems and publish information that had not previously been in the public domain and was not necessary for the performance of their statutory tasks. ‘Haste’, ‘carelessness’ or the fact that the data had been legally obtained earlier are no excuse. The Police’s actions constituted a violation of the law and created a real threat to Joanna’s privacy, whose photos and data soon flooded the Internet.
This is the second penalty imposed by the UODO on the police in Joanna’s case. Last year, a financial penalty of PLN 75,000 was imposed on the Chief Commander of the Police.
Joanna is represented by the FEDERA Legal Team.
Gdańsk prosecutor’s office demands medical records of women who terminated their pregnancies
On 4 January 2026, the Gdańsk-Oliwa District Prosecutor’s Office, acting on the basis of a December notification submitted by one of the anti-abortion organisations, sent a letter to the authorities of the hospital in Gdańsk. In it, it demands the transfer of the documentation of patients whose pregnancies were terminated at the Hospital.
FEDERA’s legal team supports the Gdańsk hospital
Mateusz Bieżuński from the Foundation’s legal team commented on the case in the media: “In the case of Gdańsk, it was an autonomous decision by this particular prosecutor’s office. (…) Such actions can have a chilling effect. If the prosecutor’s office, in a situation where the hospital is providing legal, medically sound care, and therefore there are no grounds for initiating proceedings, begins to question staff or demand medical records, doctors will start to feel afraid. This should not be the case.”
Anniversary of the introduction of the abortion ban in Poland and the publication of the Constitutional Tribunal’s ruling of 2020.
It has been 33 years since abortion became inaccessible in Poland. 7 January marked another anniversary of the entry into force of the Act on Family Planning, Protection of the Human Foetus and Conditions for the Admissibility of Termination of Pregnancy, which in practice made it impossible to terminate a pregnancy, limiting the conditions to three grounds: a prohibited act, a threat to the health or life of the woman, or foetal defects. For the last six years, thanks to the Law and Justice government, it has not been in force.
