Latest demographic data
The Central Statistical Office has released the latest demographic data. The population of Poland has fallen by nearly 158,000. The crisis has been a fact for several years, not just a statistic. Even foreign women giving birth in Poland are not saving the record low birth rates.
According to a survey by the Ważne Sprawu Foundation, 27% of respondents aged 18-29 decide not to have children because of fear of pregnancy in Poland (OPINIA24 for the Ważne Sprawy Foundation and More in Common Polska, November 2025, CATI/CAWI).
The ban on abortion, the uncertainty of prenatal test results and the attitude of doctors towards women’s reproductive health contribute to this result. Older women are aware of the increased risk of complications and therefore need reliable prenatal diagnostics during pregnancy (and, in the worst-case scenario, the right to choose) and postnatal care. Forced parenthood is not the answer to the demographic crisis.
Verdict for doctors from Pszczyna
The District Court in Pszczyna has handed down its verdict in the case of Izabela’s death. Three doctors were charged with exposing the patient to direct danger of death, and one of them was additionally charged with involuntary manslaughter.
The court decided to impose the following sentences: (I) one year suspended sentence, (II) one year and three months, and (III) one year and six months imprisonment for Izabela’s doctors from Pszczyna. In addition, the doctors will lose their right to practise their profession for 4 and 6 years, respectively. The verdict is not final.
Change in the law on support after pregnancy loss
Success of FEDERA’s long-standing advocacy – The Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy has signed regulations to make life easier for people who have suffered a pregnancy loss. The law will no longer require knowledge of the sex of the foetus; medical documentation confirming pregnancy and stillbirth will suffice.
The new regulations also introduce a special medical certificate – issued by a specialist doctor or a doctor specialising in obstetrics and gynaecology – confirming stillbirth on the basis of medical or obstetric documentation, regardless of the duration of the pregnancy. In the case of funeral allowance, it will also be possible to present a certificate of death.
Changes in the Ministry of Health
Jolanta Sobierańska-Grenda replaces Izabela Leszczyna as Minister of Health in Donald Tusk’s government. We hope that the new Minister’s term will see radical changes in the approach to women’s health and reproductive health regulations. Today’s pathologies in the system surrounding abortion actively harm women and their loved ones.
We would like to thank Izabela Leszczyna for her work and for taking a pro-women’s stance in unfavourable and restrictive conditions. For the pilot programme of the ‘morning-after pill’ in Polish pharmacies, for the resumption of in vitro fertilisation subsidies, for expanding access to prenatal testing and introducing penalties for hospitals that do not perform legal abortions. Each of these changes is a step in the right direction for millions of people living in our country.
