In a ruling issued on October 22, the Constitutional Tribunal stated that the provisions allowing for termination of pregnancy due to severe and irreversible disability of the fetus or incurable diseases threatening his life are inconsistent with the Basic Law. The verdict caused a wave protests across the country. Premier Mateusz Morawiecki so far he has not published the judgment in the Journal of Laws.
As the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights is alarming, some hospitals in Poland are already complying with this ruling, although it has not been published yet. The Foundation found that the hospital in Świdnik and the Municipal Combined Hospital are refusing abortions for embryopathological reasons. M. Kopernika in Olsztyn. Earlier, the media reported, among others about a similar decision of the Bielany Hospital in Warsaw.
“There has been no change in the legal status”
In the letters addressed to hospitals, the HFHR emphasizes that “the decision of the Constitutional Tribunal enters into force and the regulation becomes invalid when the ruling is officially published, not announced in the courtroom”.
All procedures carried out before the publication of the Constitutional Tribunal judgment in the Journal of Laws must be assessed as legal and having a legal basis at the time of their performance. In such circumstances, there are no grounds for prosecuting the physician
– we read in the foundation’s announcement. The HFHR also emphasizes that the judgment of the Constitutional Tribunal is “flawed”. And this includes due to the fact that the judiciary included persons who were not entitled to sit on the Constitutional Tribunal.
– Currently, the legal status has not changed and the provision allowing termination of pregnancy for embryopathological reasons is still in force. There are no legal grounds for refraining from performing an abortion due to the unpublished decision of the Constitutional Tribunal. Patients still have the right to receive medical services, and hospitals should ensure that women can provide them. The Foundation declares its readiness to provide right help to women who will be refused the procedure in such a situation, comments the HFHR lawyer, attorney at law. Jarosław Jagura.
