On 26 July 2023 Wysokie Obcasy published an article on Ola, another victim of anti-abortion obsession and institutional violence against women in need of reproductive care in Poland.
Ola’s case goes back to 2022. Before giving birth to her son in 2019, Ola’s attempts to get pregnant were marked by miscarriages due to her gynecological condition. In 2022, she became pregnant again and this was a planned pregnancy. In the 18th week of pregnancy, she began to feel unwell, experiencing severe cramps and fever. She had a miscarriage at home and the ambulance transported her to the hospital for a medical checkup.
Immediately after, the police came to Ola’s house and to the hospital as well. Although the woman was very weak, the policemen insisted on entering the room and questioning her. The officers followed her every step. Blood was taken from her test following the police’s prescription.
As she was leaving the hospital, the policeman asked if she had flushed the toilet. “Before I managed to get home, I found out that the policemen were already waiting in my house, because the prosecutor ordered the septic tank to be pumped out” – said Ola to Wysokie Obcasy. The septic tank was pumped out with the purpose to look for the remnants of the fetus allegedly flushed to the toilet.
The District Prosecutor in Warsaw initiated proceedings for assistance in abortion. In October 2022, after almost half a year the proceedings were discontinued. “ – I haven’t committed any crime. It was a miscarriage, a tragedy for me, and I was treated, at the prosecutor’s request, like garbage – said Ola.
Ola decided to share her story with FEDERA, encouraged by Joanna’s testimony in the case of the police intervention which followed after Joanna took an abortion pill. FEDERA lawyer is representing Ola and is currently collecting evidence to ensure adequate legal actions is taken in her case.