Justyna Wydrzyńska, a co-founder of the grassroots organization Abortion Dream Team, was convicted by a Warsaw court of abetting abortion after providing a domestic violence victim with abortion pills. The victim, who is identified as Ania in Polish media, already had one child and feared being trapped with her abusive partner if she had another. Wydrzyńska, who had also experienced domestic violence and had previously used the pills herself, gave Ania the pills to help her make her own decision and escape the violent relationship.
Abortion is illegal in almost all cases in Poland, a predominantly Catholic country with a deeply conservative government. Abortion is only allowed when a woman’s life or health is at risk, or in cases of rape or incest. Possessing abortion pills is not illegal, but providing them to someone else is a crime punishable by up to three years in prison.
