FEDERA NEWS AND PROJECTS
FEDERA’s SRHR support for Ukrainian refugees
LEAFLET ON REPRODUCTIVE HEALTHCARE FOR WOMEN REFUGEES and information on our legal helpline I Ukrainian and Polish here
Joint initiative addressing SRHR needs of women and girls fleeing the war in Ukraine
Since June 2022, led by the Center for Reproductive Rights, FEDERA and Feminoteka are the two organisations from Poland that together with other organisations from countries bordering Ukraine have been working together on a project to document the experiences of adult refugee women from Ukraine who needed access to sexual and reproductive health and gender-based violence support services.
For the detailed information about all our activities please check both Polish and English websites, our FB, Twitter and Instagram accounts.
RELEVANT SRHR DEVELOPMENTS
Hearing on abortion at the European Parliament
For 17 November FEDERA has been invited by the EP’s Committees (FEMM and LIBE) to speak about the consequences of the ban on abortion introduced by the ruling of the compromised Constitutional Tribunal of 21 October 2020. At the hearing the sister of Izabela from Pszczyna accompanied by a family lawyer J. Budzowska have provided personal testimony and legal perspective on Izabela’s case.
The CT’s ruling has fatal consequences. Women die as a result of this ruling and its chilling effect on doctors who are afraid of activities that could be qualified as abortion: they wait too long to induce stillbirth, they procrastinate to remove dead fetus on time, they hesitate to remove ectopic pregnancy. FEDERA representatives spoke about more cases that have been recorded in Poland of similar circumstances to Izabela’s case.
Read more in FEDERA press release and info about media cover (in Polish).
Poland received 17 recommendations on access to safe and legal abortion in Poland under the Universal Periodic Review
Poland’s review under the Universal Periodic Review
Poland received 17 recommendations on access to safe and legal abortion under the Universal Periodic Review.
The review of Poland under the Fourth cycle of the Universal Periodic Review was held on 15 November 2022 by the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review. Two days after the Working Group adopted the report on Poland containing 433 recommendations to improve the protection of human rights as regards its full spectrum covered by the international human rights treaties.
In the area of sexual and reproductive rights Poland has received recommendations from 17 States. Most of them demand from Poland to liberalise access to abortion and decriminalise abortion. When asked about abortion, Polish delegation declared that Poland is not party to any international convention that envisage the right to abortion as a human right.
FEDERA with its partner submitted the UPR report to the Human Rights Council calling on States to issue ambitious recommendations covering all the aspect of sexual and reproductive health and access to comprehensive sexuality education. We engaged with the States’ representatives in Warsaw and Geneva explaining the realities faced by women in Poland as regards all the stages of their reproductive life during which they require access to essential health services.
Please read here all the recommendations addressed to Poland in the area of sexual and reproductive health and rights.
UPDATE ON THE ANTI-GENDER MOVEMENT IN POLAND
The Ordo Iuris Institute, using its special consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council, has submitted its written position paper to the Commission on Population and Development. They have criticized implementing in the UN program documents and policies topics, such as gender sensitivity or STDs. https://ordoiuris.pl/edukacja/ordo-iuris-przeciwko-ideologicznej-agendzie-w-onz-stanowisko-na-sesje-komisji-ds-ludnosci
At the same time, Ordo Iuris submitted its opinion to the European Commission, which plans to review the implementation of Agenda 2030 and its Sustainable Development Goals. As above, the allegations concern the inclusion of SRHR-related topics.