Activist faces trial in Poland for aiding abortion
Activist faces trial in Poland for aiding abortion
Justyna Wydrzyńska faces a three-year prison term for providing abortion-inducing tablets to a pregnant woman.
Justyna Wydrzyńska, a pro-choice activist facing trial in Poland
Wydrzyńska could be imprisoned for a maximum of three years if found guilty [Courtesy of Grzegorz Zukowski]
By Anna Koslerova
Published On 4 Apr 20224 Apr 2022
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Justyna Wydrzyńska, 47-year-old mother of three, who has been helping women access abortion for more than 15 years, is set to face trial in Poland this week for violating the country’s strict abortion law.
She could be imprisoned for a maximum of three years if found guilty of providing abortion-inducing tablets to a pregnant woman.
In February 2020, Wydrzyńska, the founder of Poland’s first chatroom for exchanging abortion-related information and co-founder of pro-abortion rights advocacy organisation Abortion Dream Team (ADT), was contacted by a woman who was 12 weeks pregnant and living under domestic violence. It was the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic when Poland’s postal service made announcements that international deliveries might be affected.
“The woman was desperate to have an abortion. She had previously tried to travel to Germany for the procedure but was stopped by her violent husband,” Wydrzyńska told Al Jazeera in an interview through a video call. “Her story touched my heart it was similar to what I had experienced in 2006,” recalls Wydrzyńska, who was also 12 weeks pregnant and living under domestic violence when she decided to have an abortion. Wydrzyńska took the risk and sent abortion pills via the Polish post. “Of course, I helped her; I wouldn’t be a human if I hadn’t,” said Wydrzyńska.
Police turned up at the woman’s home the day the package of pills, which also contained Wydrzyńska’s contact details, arrived. She miscarried from stress. According to Wydrzyńska, the woman’s husband had called the police.“I do not know why he called the police, maybe he wanted to punish the woman. All I know is that he did not know who had sent the pills,” said Wydrzyńska whose house was raided 16 months later. The Polish police confiscated personal abortion pills she had at home as well as her children’s laptop.
The trial
On April 8, Wydrzyńska is to stand trial for assistance in terminating the pregnancy, by which she violated Article 152.2 of the Polish Penal Code. If convicted, she faces up to three years in prison. “Justyna W is also charged with the possession of unauthorised drugs with the aim of introducing them to the market,” the press office of the National Public Prosecutor’s Office told Al Jazeera in a statement.
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https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/4/4/pro-choice-activist-faces-trial-in-poland-for-aiding-abortion