UPR Sexual Rights Database

At this time, the Polish Government (the Government) cannot present its final position concerning this recommendation; the justifiability of signing and ratifying the Protocol to the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights will be subject to a future review.

Accepted and implemented.

The conditions for the permissibility of termination of pregnancy in Poland are defined by the provisions of the Act of 7 January 1993 on Family Planning, Protection of the Human Foetus and Conditions for the Permissibility of Termination of Pregnancy. In accordance with Article 4a(1) of the aforesaid Act, termination of pregnancy may only be effected by a physician in a case when: (1) the pregnancy endangers the life or health of the pregnant woman; (2) there is a reasonable suspicion that the pregnancy originates from an act capable of constituting a criminal offence. The circumstances referred to in subsection 1 are certified by a physician other than the one performing the abortion, except where the pregnancy presents a direct threat to the pregnant woman’s life, and the circumstance referred to in subsection 2 is certified by a public prosecutor. The circumstances referred to in subsection 1 are certified by a physician other than the one performing the abortion, except where the pregnancy presents a direct threat to the pregnant woman’s life, and the circumstance referred to in subsection 2 is certified by a public prosecutor. The Act also requires the woman’s written consent to an abortion. In the case of a minor or completely legally incapacitated woman, the legal guardian’s consent is required. In the case of a minor above 13 years of age, her written consent is also required. In the case of a minor below 13 years of age, the guardianship court’s consent is required, and the minor has a right to make her opinion known. In the case of a completely legally incapacitated woman, her written consent is also required, except where the condition of her health does not so permit. In the absence of the legal guardian’s consent, termination of pregnancy requires the consent of the guardianship court. Moreover, the provisions of the Act specify the time-limit in which the procedure may be carried out. Where there is a reasonable suspicion that the pregnancy originates from an act capable of constituting a criminal offence, termination of pregnancy is permissible if no more than 12 weeks have elapsed since the beginning of the pregnancy. The Regulation of the Minister of Health and Social Care of 22 January 1997 concerning the professional qualifications of physicians authorized to perform abortions and to determine that the pregnancy endangers the woman’s life or health or suggests a high probability of severe irreversible impairment of the foetus or life-threatening incurable illness specifies that an abortion may be performed by a physician holding a first-degree specialization in obstetrics and gynaecology or the title of a specialist in obstetrics and gynaecology. The existence of circumstances suggesting that the pregnancy endangers the pregnant woman’s life or health is certified by a physician holding the title of a specialist in the medical discipline proper to the type of the illness suffered by the pregnant woman. As for access to benefits in the discussed area, Article 4b of the Act of 7 January 1993 on Family Planning, Protection of the Human Foetus and Conditions for the Lawful Termination of Pregnancy provides that, ‘persons covered by social insurance and persons eligible for free health-care under separate provisions shall be eligible for free pregnancy termination in health-care establishments.’ The list of guaranteed benefits in relation to abortion is specified by Annex 1 to the Regulation of the Minister of Health of 22 November 2013 concerning guaranteed benefits in the area of hospital care. Furthermore, it ought to be noted that in the light of the applicable provisions, including chiefly the provisions of the Regulation of the Minister of Health of 8 September 2015 concerning the general terms of contracts for health-care services (Journal of Laws of 2016, item 1146), all health-care establishments (hospitals) having contracted with the National Health Fund (NFZ) have a duty to provide the benefits specified therein in the full scope and in compliance with the applicable law. By signing a contract for health-care services, the provider agrees to provide all services specified as guaranteed benefits in the relevant executive regulations under the Act, to the extent of the relevant scope and type of benefits covered by the contract. As noted above, the Regulation of the Minister of Health of 22 November 2013 concerning guaranteed benefits in the area of hospital care includes abortion. The effective legal remedy for, among others, women denied the right to carry out the abortion procedure (in circumstances prescribed by the Act of 7 January 1993 on Family Planning, Protection of the Human Foetus and Conditions for the Lawful Termination of Pregnancy) is the patient’s right to object to the physician’s opinion or decision. The aforesaid right was introduced to the Polish legal system by the provisions of the Act of 6 November 2008 on the Patient’s Rights and on the Patient’s Rights Ombudsman. The right accrues to the patient and can also be exercised on the patient’s behalf by the statutory guardian. In accordance with the aforementioned Act, the objection against a physician’s or dentist’s opinion or decision may be lodged with the Medical Board operating under the auspices of the Patient’s Rights Ombudsman, if the opinion or decision affects the patient’s rights or obligations arising from the provisions of the law. The activities of the Patient’s Rights Ombudsman’s Medical Board are governed by the Regulation of the Minister of Health of 10 March 2010 concerning the Medical Board operating under the auspices of the Patient’s Rights Ombudsman. Pursuant to Article 32(2) of the Act of 6 November 2008 on the Patient’s Rights and on the Patient’s Rights Ombudsman, the national consultants, in consultation with the relevant voivodeship consultants, shall once a year by 30 March compile lists of physicians eligible to serve as members of the Medical Board. The Patient’s Rights Ombudsman has reached out to the national consultants in the relevant medical disciplines concerning updates to the lists prepared and submitted by them. It should furthermore be noted that the Act of 6 November 2008 on the Patient’s Rights and on the Patient’s Rights Ombudsman, in addition to the right to object, has also created a central organ of government administration — significant from the perspective of the protection of the rights of all patients, including without limitation pregnant women experiencing difficulties with access to abortion — in the form of the Patient’s Rights Ombudsman.

Article 23(1)(a) of the Convention deals with the recognition of the right of all persons with disabilities who are of the right age to marry to do so and to start a family, on the basis of consent given freely and fully by the spouses to be. Pursuant to Article 46 of the Convention, the Republic of Poland reserves the right not to apply Article 23(1)(a) of the Convention until Polish law is amended. Until the reservation is withdrawn, a person with a disability whose disability is the result of mental illness or deficiency and who is of the right age to marry cannot marry unless the court permits marriage upon determining that the health condition or mental condition of such a person does not endanger the marriage or the health of the expected progeny, if the person is not completely legally incapacitated. This is the consequence of Article 12(1) of the Act of 25 February 1964 — Family and Guardianship Code (uniform text: Journal of Laws of 2020, item 1359). Additionally, Poland has submitted a reservation against Article 23(1)(b) and Article 25(a). The reason for the reservation is that the right to health is sometimes interpreted on the international level as an unconditional right to abortion. In order to avoid pressure to amend the provisions governing the conditions for the termination of pregnancy, Poland submitted a reservation whereby it reserves its freedom to decide upon the conditions for the permissibility of abortion.

Noted. The National Action Programme for Equal Treatment for 2022-2030 foresees a review and possible update of the anti-discrimination regulations.

The Victim Assistance Network financed by the Justice Fund provides legal, psychological and therapeutic assistance for all victims, as well as medical assistance in justified cases. Unpaid assistance for victims is provided by legal professionals, psychologists, psychotherapists and physicians authorized to provide the aforesaid services pursuant to the provisions of domestic law, including without limitation special provisions governing the right to practice the profession. Currently, the Victim Assistance Network operates 305 centres throughout Poland providing assistance financed by the Justice Fund. Through them, victims of crime are given access to legal and psychological assistance. Assistance from the Justice Fund is offered to all victims of all sorts of criminal offences. This assistance is easily accessible; from 1 January to 30 November 2022 nearly 28,000 persons used the assistance provided by the Victim Assistance Network, the majority having been women — 20,000. ... Poland understands the term “gender” as exclusively biological sex, therefore a natural sex of a person, that is of a woman or a man.

At this time, the Government cannot present its final position concerning this recommendation; the justifiability of signing and ratifying the Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities will be subject to a future review.