European Court of Human Rights issues surprising ruling regarding Poland’s pro-life law
Abortion activists trying to challenge Poland’s pro-life laws have been rejected by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in a shocking ruling.
A group of eight women argued that Poland’s law protecting preborn children with disabilities from abortion violated their human rights. However, the ECHR ruled that their case could not be accepted due to lack of evidence. In a press releasethe court explained:
The Court found that the applicants failed to provide any convincing medical evidence proving that they are in real danger of being directly affected by the legislative changes in 2020. They also did not produce any documents with relation to their personal circumstances, making it impossible to assess their individual situations.
The consequences for the applicants of the legislative changes are too far-reaching and difficult to understand for them to say that they are “victims” according to the definition of the European Convention of Human Rights.
Unfortunately, this is only one of many challenges; the court noted that there are approximately 1,000 other similar cases awaiting hearing. The ECHR also has a long history of upholding abortion, and Poland has been identified before. The Court even previously argued that it was “necessary” to censor pro-life speech.
The law in question was put in place in 2021; before it was enacted, 98% of abortions in Poland are due to a prenatal diagnosis of disability. After the law was passed, the number of abortions performed fell, from 1,076 in 2020 to just 107 in 2021.
Many protests have taken place in Poland since then, including violent protests and instances of arson abortion activists did. In one recent case, abortion activists stormed a Catholic cathedral while holding mass, shouting and throwing pro-abortion pamphlets. But a district court judge acquitted them of all charges, saying that the archbishop of Poznań, Stanisław Gądecki, had brought protests himself and the cathedral, only for strongly expressing support for in pro-life legislation.
