EUROPE

Polish court convicts activist of providing abortion pills in landmark case

By Kasia Strek, Kate Brady and Claire Parker
Updated March 14, 2023 at 11:37 a.m. EDT | Published March 14, 2023 at 10:18 a.m. EDT

WARSAW — A Polish court convicted a human rights activist on Tuesday of illegally providing abortion pills and sentenced her to eight months of community service, in a case that has resonance for a post-Roe United States.

The verdict, which could have brought a sentence of up to three years in prison, prompted outrage from supporters of abortion rights demonstrating outside the courtroom in Warsaw and around the world.

For decades, majority-Catholic Poland has had some of Europe’s strictest abortion laws, which were tightened further in 2020 by banning exceptions for cases of fetal abnormalities. While performing an abortion on yourself is legal, aiding someone else is not.

Justyna Wydrzynska, who co-founded Abortion Dream Team providing people with information about how to safely terminate their pregnancies, said the ruling will not stop her activities.

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By Kate Brady
Kate Brady is a researcher and reporter based in The Washington Post's Berlin bureau. She has been at The Post since early 2023 and has been reporting from Germany for the best part of a decade. Twitter https://twitter.com/bradyinberlin

By Claire Parker
Claire Parker covers international news for The Washington Post. Twitter https://twitter.com/ClaireParkerDC