Former first ladies speak out against abortion ban
15:20
Three former first ladies, Anna Komorowska, Jolanta Kwaśniewska and Danuta Wałęsa called, in an open letter, to abandon the idea of introducing a complete abortion ban.
"We urge a stop to actions that will legally force women who are facing a dramatic, difficult decision to heroism," read the letter. "Every abortion is a tragedy, but you can not aggravate the tragedy of women by forcing them to bear children of rape or risk her or her child's life and health."
The former first ladies warned that "breaking the previous agreement will inevitably lead to the replacement of a difficult compromise with a debilitating struggle."
At present, Poland’s abortion law permits the procedure only if the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest, if the mother’s life is endangered, or if the fetus is severely malformed. But the citizens’ initiative “Stop Abortion” recently started collecting signatures to completely ban abortion. The move was initially backed by Prime Minister Beata Szydło and PiS chairman Jarosław Kaczyński, however they later softened their stance, with Kaczyński saying that the lives, health and dignity of women need to be respected.
