Hospitals refused to perform abortions. Kotula announces penalties

Kotula made a declaration regarding the inspection of hospitals in the “Poranna Rozmowa” program on RMF FM. – I will talk to Minister Leszczyna about it so that hospitals that, even though they have contracted termination of pregnancy, do not perform them, should be punished in some way by the National Health Fund – said the minister.

Kotula: White spots on the map of Poland

When asked about changes in abortion law, Kotula emphasized that these were necessary, but the priority was currently to ensure women’s safety. – I made a declaration, but there is also an expectation on the part of Prime Minister Donald Tusk that I will cooperate with the Minister of Health Izabela Leszczyna in developing immediate solutions, before the law changes, that will be able to give women and doctors a sense of security – she said.

She noted that many Polish medical facilities, despite having contracts, did not perform abortions. – There were many white spots on the maps of Poland, i.e. places where abortion procedures should have been performed, but they were not performed – she pointed out.

The minister also referred to the concept of liberalizing abortion law, introducing termination of pregnancy on demand. – Today, there is no majority consent for this step, which will be the last step. There is no consent of all our coalition partners, she said. – As MPs from the Left and, I think, as MPs from the ruling coalition, we would very much like there to be broad public consultations on this matter, perhaps in the form of a real public hearing – she added.

ECtHR decision

One of the pretexts to talk about changes in abortion law was the Thursday decision of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of a Polish woman who was refused an abortion. A woman had to go abroad to abort a fetus diagnosed with Down syndrome. The Tribunal ruled that the State Treasury must pay the woman PLN 15,000. EUR for non-pecuniary damage and EUR 1,004 for material damage.

Commenting on the ECtHR’s judgment, Kotula emphasized that, in her opinion, the judges had set the right direction for changes in the law. “This is a key judgment,” she said. – I am convinced that this judgment shows that we must move towards liberalization of abortion law – she added.