Alicja TysiacV Poland

international | gender and sexuality | opinion/analysis

Tuesday March 20, 2007 20:06

by C Murray

Centre for Reproductive Rights Applauds Landmark Decision

The European Court for Human Rights today held that Poland was in violation of
the human Rights of Alicja Tysiak who had sought an abortion due to a medical
condition which had caused irreversible eye damage.

She had been refused a certificate authorising the abortion, which had left her
forced to continue with the pregnancy.

By Law Poland allows women to have abortions when their health is in danger, in the
Tysiac case the Polish State had failed to meet with it's legal obligation.

Strasbourg , March 20th , 2007:-

EHCR has found that Poland is in violation of the human rights and awards Eur 25,000
in case of a woman left nearly blind.

For the first time the European court of Human rights has held that governemnts have a
duty to establish effective mechanisms for ensuring that women have access to
abortion where it is legal.

The Centre for Reproductive Rights ,[ an NGO] uses the law to advance reproductive
rights globally, filed a friend -of-the court brief in the case. The centre argued thar under
International Law and National Law levels in Europe, states have a duty to establish effective
procedures to ensure that women legally entitled to abortion are able to effectively
excercise that right.

info at link :- http://www.reproductiverights.org

The LPR has been forcing a constitutional challenge to article 38 of the
Constitution to have the wording amended to 'protect human life from
the moment of conception'.

Poland allows only limited abortion rights- the LPR constitutional challenge
would further reduce those rights specfically in relation to medical/therapeutic
abortion rights.

Alicja Tysiac had been given medical advice that a further pregnancy would
debilitate her further, but not the necessary legal documents for getting
an early (12 week) termination.

save preference

Comments (8 of 8)

Eh?

by corkman in paris

Tue Mar 20, 2007 22:47

Why is this filed under Opinion/Analysis?

hear hear! corkonian parisien parisien corkonian : c'est vrai!

by ceart go leor

Wed Mar 21, 2007 00:32

ceci c'est une actualité. it's news. big time news as well.

response to Corkonian in Paris

Wed Mar 21, 2007 10:56

I could have put it in the Newswire section, but that would have prevented
the LPR add on- where the right are attempting to change the constitution
to protect life from the moment of conception.

This causes massive human rights problems , in relation to the very limited
right to medical abortion in circumstances wherin the mother's life is endangered.

Now for a further 'opinion' on the matter;-

Neo-liberal/neo-con agenda does not support the 'Right to life"
it casually uses a co-opted dogmatised systemisation and translation of
'new creationism' to argue that a woman is biologically pre-determined to carry
a child. note that the word I used was a 'woman'. If you want to get into a philosophical
debate about what comprises a woman- work away. It will be fun.

When does a child become a woman?
Why is there no protections for the born child with the biological ability to
pro-create?
In Ireland why is the 12-17 year old pre-consent child not afforded her
basic human right to her childhood because of the 'co-equality' clause which
determines that she is co-equal with the foetus she is carrying.

Why are governments in South America, Poland, Ireland and Portugal
refusing to accept that there is an issue of the human rights of the pre-consent child
here?

The issue of right to life and right to choose- is not all that it is at stake , there
is a human rights issue and an area of protection that is unaddressed by male-dominated
legislature- In Ireland- the judgement on 'X' allowed for the legislation for limited
abortion 15 years ago- no government has addressed the issue in that 15 years.

In Nicaragua- a nine year old girl received a legal abortion, they are now banned.
In Columbia an eleven year old girl got a legal abortion.
In Ireland we have just seen the baby Noleen case- the child was a victim , she
was eleven at the time.

In the ethical sense, we must look at :
Sex education.
Co-equality.
Legislating for 'X'

Limited access to free, safe and legal abortion (in medical cases)
Because if we lack the maturity to accept that sometimes things can go wrong and the mother's
life is at risk, then it will be taken out of our hands and become a privatised industry
in which there is no regulation.

The state has a duty of care to Children, Immigrant women and women with
medical conditions to provide this option. I have personally seen five or six horrific
cases which have caused deep and abiding familial tragedies because of a refusal
to understand wholy the issues which necessitate medical abortion.

Links to Poland, Nicaragua and Portuguese Stories.

Wed Mar 21, 2007 11:40

http://www.indymedia.ie/article/80967
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/79311
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/79749

This is also currently an issue within England.(reduction in availability of abortion through
time constraints- http://www.indymedia.uk.org has a cache).

The 1967 Abortion act has never been legislated for in the 6 counties either.

There has been very little commercial horizontal pick up in Irish media of the Polish Problem.

by peer

Wed Mar 21, 2007 14:59

2 issues obviously calling for attention - Gender (Abortion) & Sexuality. Outside of Ireland's LGBT community's coverage in the last hours of the proposed legislation to prohibit mention of homosexuality in schools and universities and ban homosexuals from employment in the educational sector - only the Irish Times muses that the court ruling on Abortion "might have consequences in Ireland".
oh well - what would we expect? a feature page special on the benefits of a US missile shield? an Irishman's diary on what attitudes & prejudices will come from our largest minority group in the future?
the last thing you want to do with difficult issues is think about them before hand

Link to the Irish Times

Wed Mar 21, 2007 19:12

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/frontpage/2007/0321/11....html

Polish response:-

Thu Mar 22, 2007 19:44

Wanda Nowicka who is president of ;-
Polish Federation for women and family planning- they of the Petition for support
against the LPR constitutional challenge which would seek to protect life from the
moment of conception has roundly welcomed the EHCR decision.

http://www.federa.org.pl/ (the English translator is top right of the welcome/home page)

The Family planning and women's federation has consistently supported the
Tysiac case .

The Petition against the change to article 38 of the Polish constitution is ongoing
but published here again:-

http://www.federa.org.pl/signatures

It has made its way around Europe and Latin America through various women's
mailing lists, there is with it a letter of objection which delineates the possible
health and rights problems attendant on the Parliament attempting to reverse
the already quite restrictive abortion laws in that EU State.

William Binchy

Sat Mar 24, 2007 20:44

Court of Human Rights Has Done a Disservice to Unborn:-

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/opinion/2007/0324/1174....html

well, he is entitled to his opinion.

There are two small details neglected from his opinion piece in the Irish Times;-

1. He cites the 1993 legislation as appropriate to the case- this deals with the medical
certification which Alicja Tysiac did seek, but He does not refer to the LPR and their
persistent attempts since before Christmas to reverse even this legislation by
attempting to change article 38 of the Polish constitution to read The
protection of 'Human Life from the Moment of conception.'

[These are legislators (of the right wing variety , with no expertise in gynaecology
or oncology ) who are attempting human rights abuse through legislation.]

2. The skew of Professor Binchy's article is to do with Law and ethics- and not
medical opinion and the woman/adolescent/child's right to dignity/privacy/bodily
integrity.

I have drafted and sent a refutation which I am sure will not be published.
Professor Binchy is now a member of the Iona institute and his colleague
Breda O Brien , a regular columnist on Catholic ethics in the Irish Times.

The court does not define the moment of conception- but a legislature
which is withdrawing basic medical abortion rights through constitutional means
is not qualified to decide either the woman's right to choose or the child's right
to her childhood.

Again- it is the medical doctor who decides in the interest of the patient the patient's
right to seek treatment ,including abortion and not the ethical or political campaigner
who is not expert in this area.

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Alicja TysiacV Poland

Comments (8 of 8)