The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) recently pronounced its verdict in a 5-2 vote that a Polish court had infringed upon a woman’s right to private and family life. The breach was a result of the woman being forced to travel overseas to get an abortion due to a fetal anomaly.
The woman, in her petition to the ECHR, claimed that during 2020 diagnostic testing, it was identified that her fetus was affected by Trisomy 21, commonly known as Down syndrome. This chromosomal condition can lead to a multitude of birth defects and learning problems. In January 2021, a physician in Poland consented to perform an abortion two days after making these findings, affirming that she met the criteria under Article 4a(1)2 of the 1993 Family Planning Act.
However, the scheduled termination procedure was cancelled when Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal passed a judgment ushering in a near-total abortion ban the very next day. Subsequently, the woman had to travel to the Netherlands for the procedure, incurring a cost of €1,220.
While delivering its verdict, ECHR referred to Section 31 of the 2008 law on patients’ rights and the Patients’ Rights Ombudsman, which allows a patient to contest a doctor’s opinion or decision. It also brought up Article 23 of the Polish Civil Code, which encapsulates protections for personal rights. Finally, regarding this case, the court found that the Polish court violated the Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. This Article guards the right to respect for private and family life.
Poland’s strict abortion laws, which are amongst the most stringent in the European Union, have been criticized by global human rights organizations. These organizations claim that Poland’s laws run contrary to international and European human rights norms and public health guidelines.