Polish Woman Denied an Abortion Takes Fight to Europe

A Polish woman who was left partially blind after doctors refused to give her an abortion took her country to the European court of human rights yesterday over its law on terminations. Alicja Tysiac argued that her human rights were infringed when she was unable to have an abortion.

Ms Tysiac, who has severe myopia, became pregnant for the third time in 2000. She consulted three ophthalmologists, who each concluded that there would be a serious risk to her eyesight if she carried her pregnancy to term. However, they refused to issue a certificate for an abortion on medical grounds, despite Ms Tysiac’s repeated requests, the court heard.

After giving birth, her eyesight worsened considerably and she suffered a retinal hemorrhage, the court heard. The 35-year-old single mother, who lives in Warsaw, is now classified as disabled. She lives on an allowance of €140 (£96) a month, has difficulty seeing objects more than 1.5 meters (5ft) away, and fears she will eventually go blind.

Ms Tysiac alleges that the Polish government’s abortion law violates the European Treaty on Human Rights, which is legally binding. She claims that no legal framework is in place in Poland for women to assert their right to abortion on medical grounds.

Under the communists, abortion was used by many women as a form of contraception. But in 1993 it was delegalised after pressure from the Catholic church and is now one of the most restrictive in Europe. The law allows women to have an abortion under three circumstances: if the mother’s health is at serious risk; the fetus is irreparably damaged; or the pregnancy was the result of incest or rape.

Pro-abortion campaigners say that it is virtually impossible for women to exercise their right to an abortion because their health is at risk, and that there are no procedures in place allowing women to appeal against a doctor’s refusal.

After having the baby, Ms Tysiac filed criminal charges against a doctor in a Warsaw hospital, who had insisted that she continue with the pregnancy. A district prosecutor threw out the case.

"She was entitled to have a legal abortion but was unable to exercise this right," Wanda Nowicka, president of the Polish Federation for Women and Family Planning, said after attending yesterday’s hearing in Strasbourg. "Alicja has a strong sense of dignity. She isn’t educated. But she feels very strongly that what happened to her isn’t justified."

The present political situation in Poland was not encouraging, Ms Nowicka added. The government is opposed to any liberalization on abortion, and is considering further restrictions. Currently, thousands of Polish women are forced to turn to an illegal network of expensive private clinics, while others travel abroad, campaigners say.

A verdict is expected to take several months.