“Thanks to the abortion law, there’s nothing they can do,” wrote woman before death in Polish hospital

The final messages of a pregnant 30-year-old, whose recent death in a Polish hospital has been blamed by many on Poland’s near-total abortion ban, have been made public by her mother.

In them, the woman, named only as Izabela (Iza), expressed her conviction that it was the recently tightened abortion law that made doctors wait for the death of her foetus before removing it. She also wrote that she was worried for her life as a result, and soon afterwards she indeed died due to septic shock.

But right-wing figures – including members of the ruling coalition – have argued that her death should not be linked to the abortion law. Yesterday, a conservative legal body issued a letter signed by lawyers, medical specialists and priests criticising “misinformation” around the case.

“The child weights 485 grams. But for now, thanks to the abortion law I have to [just] lie [here]. And there is nothing they can do,” wrote Izabela in a message shown by her mother to broadcaster TVN. Her foetus had been diagnosed with severe defects including ventriculomegaly, hypoplastic nasal bone and ventricular septal defect.

“They’ll wait until it dies or something will start. If not, I can expect sepsis. They can’t speed it up. The heart has to stop beating or something has to start,” continued Izabela, who is survived by a husband and daughter.

In another text to her mother, Izabela said she felt like she was being treated as an “incubator” until the foetus died, “while the child is also suffering”.

Speaking to TVN, her mother claimed that, during the time the doctors waited for the death of the foetus, Izabela repeatedly informed them about her own symptoms, but no one was monitoring her state. She had her own thermometer and wrote to her mother that she had a 39.9°C fever and shivers.

Only when the heartbeat of the foetus stopped did the doctors perform a caesarean section, according to Izabela’s mother. But that came too late to save her daughter’s life, she says.

Since news of Izabela’s death emerged last week, the hospital has stated that all of its actions were “guided by concern for the health and life of the patient and the foetus”. Prosecutors have opened an investigation into the case, while the health ministry has ordered an audit of the hospital.

Yesterday, it was also announced that the professional liability commissioner for the provincial medical chamber has requested material from prosecutors to ascertain whether there was malpractice by the staff involved, reports Interia.

Ordo Iuris, an ultraconservative organisation that lobbied for the restriction of abortion in Poland, has argued that the tragedy is the result of medical malpractice. It has criticised those who blame it on the abortion law, which it notes still allows terminations in the case of a threat to the mother’s life or health.

Yesterday it published an open letter signed by 36 lawyers, medical specialists and priests, who protested against “misinformation” surrounding the case.

“It is unacceptable to use this situation for inciting political disputes and social unrest,” they wrote, warning that this “could lead to new acts of aggression against Catholics…as happened in autumn 2020”. Last year, during mass protests against the near-total abortion ban, some demonstrators targeted churches.

A senior lawmaker from Poland’s ruling party, Marek Suski, has also claimed that Izabela’s death had “nothing to do with” the abortion law. “The fact that people die is biology,” he said. “And unfortunately sometimes women die in childbirth.”

Yet many opposition politicians and women’s rights groups have blamed the tragedy on the abortion law. “These texts [from Izabela] are like an incitement against the creators of this cruel law,” wrote Katarzyna Lubnauer, leader of the liberal Nowoczesna (Modern), party.

Kamila Ferenc, a lawyer from the Federation for Women and Family Planning, argues that, instead of protecting the life of the woman, the doctors prioritised saving the foetus. “This is the chilling effect of the Constitutional Tribunal’s decision in action,” she stressed, referring to the court ruling that introduced the near-total abortion ban.

Włodzimierz Czarzasty, leader of the New Left (Nowa Lewica), told TVN24 that he believes there will be more cases like Izabela’s. “Doctors are not behaving as they should, as they are afraid of the legal consequences,” he said.

On Monday, silent protests with candles took place in many Polish cities. Demonstrators called Izabela “the first victim of abortion ban” and protested under the slogan “Not a single one more” (Ani jednej więcej).

On 22 October 2020, the Constitutional Tribunal ruled that abortions carried out due to the diagnosis of a severe birth defect in the foetus – which had previously been permitted and made up over 90% of legal terminations in Poland – were unconstitutional.

The ruling only formally came into force in January. But even in November and December, doctors and activists reported a “chilling effect”, with hospitals cancelling planned abortion procedures and refusing to schedule new ones.

Since then, many women’s rights groups report that it has become increasing difficult for women to obtain abortions, with the number of legal terminations – already among the lowest in Europe – falling 65% in the year since the ruling.

Main image credit: TVN24 (screenshot)

Agnieszka Wądołowska

Agnieszka Wądołowska is deputy editor of Notes from Poland. She has previously worked for Gazeta.pl and Tokfm.pl and contributed to Gazeta Wyborcza, Wysokie Obcasy, Duży Format, Midrasz and Kultura Liberalna