A social activist in Poland has been charged with helping a woman get an abortion in the first trial of its kind in Europe.
The man identified as Justyna Wydrzyńska is accused of providing abortion pills to a pregnant lady; she called herself a victim of domestic violence in 2020.
Wydrzyńska is a team member of an activist team called the Polish group Aborcyjny Dream Team (ADT); if he is found guilty, he will be charged with three years of imprisonment.
While referring to the case, Amnesty International emphasized that it is the first case in Europe where a pro-abortion activist has been prosecuted for providing abortion pills.
The international NGO urges to abort the charges held against the Wydrzyńska and for abortion access to be “fully decriminalized” in Poland.
Poland holds rigorous laws on abortion in Europe despite widespread anger from women’s rights activists. The country’s constitutional court agreed with the conservative Government’s viewpoint that incubations could not be aborted where the fetus is malformed.
The Government allows only termination of the pregnancies where there is a threat to the mother’s life or if the pregnancy has resulted from a criminal act, rape or incest.
The court’s decision led to widespread protests across Poland and
criticism from other European Union member states.
Wydrzyńska is accused of providing abortion assistance under a 1997 law and placing drugs on the market without the authorization of the Government.
Prosecutors asserted while she was waiting for the abortion pills to arrive, her husband called the police at home.
According to the reports, the accused assisted around 100 women every day who desired to abort by referring them to organizations based abroad.
But Wydrzyńska says she had been motivated to help the woman personally due to her previous personal experience.
