The child was raped by her uncle, taking advantage of the girl’s intellectual disabilities.
In Poland, doctors refused an abortion to a minor 14-year-old girl who was raped by her own uncle. The doctors refused the operation, referring to the caveat “about conscience”.
This story was reported by the Polish organization Women and Family Planning Fund (FEDER) in its social networks. The incident happened in the north-east of Poland, in a small town in the Podlaskie Voivodeship.
For some time, the girl hid the fact of the rape and did not know about the pregnancy. Later, her aunt learned about what had happened. She tried to help the child get an abortion.
According to Polish law, women can terminate a pregnancy up to 12 weeks after submitting a certificate from the prosecutor’s office. According to the Foundation, the girl’s family had this certificate, but she was still refused the operation, citing “conscience” concerns.
In Poland, there is a concept of “doctors’ conscientious objection” (klauzula sumienia lekarzy), which allows medical workers to refuse to perform abortions if it does not correspond to their religious principles.
Ban on abortion in Poland
In October 2020, the Constitutional Court of Poland banned abortions in the country due to problems with fetal development. In response to this, the European Parliament adopted a separate resolution condemning the actions of Polish parliamentarians.
Against this background, mass protests and actions broke out in many cities of the country.
Later, the Polish government announced a series of bills that could help support women after an abortion. The Ministry of Justice of Poland stated that women should have “rooms for crying”. However, officials later took back their words.
