Poland: Abortion

(asked on 30th October 2020) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Polish counterpart on that country's abortion laws.


Answered by
Wendy Morton Portrait
Wendy Morton
This question was answered on 4th November 2020

We are closely monitoring developments in Poland following a ruling on 22 October by its Constitutional Tribunal that laws permitting abortion in certain cases are unconstitutional and the large-scale protests across Poland that this has prompted. It is for each country to establish its own laws on abortion. However, the UK firmly believes that supporting the comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls, through evidence-based public health interventions, saves lives and supports prosperity. Evidence shows that restricting access to safe abortion does not make abortions less common: it only makes them less safe. The FCDO is a leading voice on gender issues, including sexual and reproductive health and rights, in multilateral fora such as the Council of Europe and the United Nations. The British Embassy in Warsaw is active on this agenda and in September ran a workshop for British and Polish NGOs active on women's rights.

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