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Poland’s data protection agency has fined the Polish police chief’s office 75,000 zloty (€18,000) for publicly disclosing the personal and health data of a woman who had taken abortion pills and was admitted to hospital due to having suicidal thoughts.
The Personal Data Protection Office (UODO) argued that the former chief of police, Jarosław Szymczyk, violated the EU’s data protection regulation (GDPR) by sharing private information, including details regarding her psychiatric treatment.
📌PUODO nałożył karę w wysokości 75 tys. zł na Komendanta Głównego Policji za ujawnienie na konferencji prasowej danych osobowych i informacji o stanie zdrowia kobiety.
⬇https://t.co/o9LwHVkKkj— Urząd Ochrony Danych Osobowych (@UODOgov_pl) March 24, 2025
The incident in question made headlines in 2023 after a report by broadcaster TVN in which the woman – named only as Joanna – outlined the police’s actions towards her and claimed she had been mistreated.
She was admitted to the emergency ward of Kraków’s Military Hospital due to her poor physical and mental state after she had called her doctor and admitted taking abortion pills. The doctor then called the emergency services.
After she was taken to the hospital, female police officers entered the examination room with her and she was asked to undress. The officers also seized her phone and laptop, arguing that they were required to investigate Joanna’s potential suicide and whether she had received assistance with the abortion.
The police faced criticism over their treatment of Joanna. Later, during an official press conference in which they sought to justify their actions, the police shared a recording of the emergency call made by Joanna’s doctor as well as some of her private data.
UODO has now issued a fine of 75,000 zloty to the police chief’s office for sharing data covered by medical confidentiality.
That includes information about Joanna’s physical condition, psychiatric treatment and mental health, as well as details regarding the breakdown of a romantic relationship, her sexual orientation and her place of residence.
It argued that “the breach of the GDPR provisions is of a serious nature” which could lead to a “real possibility that the [private] data [disclosed by police] may be used by third parties” .
Although exemption from GDPR provisions is permitted in some circumstances – for example, in order to identify and prevent criminal acts – UODO did not find any legal basis for sharing Joanna’s data. The emergency call released by the police was made in relation to a potential suicide, which is not a crime in Poland.
UODO also rejected the police’s argument that the private information disclosed during the conference was “press material”. The body said that neither freedom of the press nor freedom of expression apply to the chief of police as they are legally an organ of government administration.
“Disclosing my details and presenting false information about me was intended as a form of disciplining me, intimidating me, showing me my place,” said Joanna, quoted by Federa, a reproductive rights group, who filed the complaint to UODO on her behalf. “The fine imposed on the police is the beginning of a symbolic restoration of justice.”
A court has rejected a claim that police abused their powers during an intervention against a woman who had taken abortion pills.
The judge argued that the woman had "an interest in portraying herself as a victim" to gain compensation and media attention https://t.co/E3Zln4OX1c
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) September 28, 2024
In September last year, a Polish court rejected Joanna’s case against the police in which she accused them of abusing their powers. It argued that the woman had “an interest in portraying herself as a victim of police brutality”, perhaps in order to obtain compensation, and that she had sought to publicise the case in the media.
The police defended their actions and argued it was necessary for them to check if someone had assisted the woman in terminating her pregnancy.
Although Poland has some of Europe’s strictest abortion laws, terminating one’s own pregnancy is not a crime. However, helping a woman with an abortion – for example, by providing pills – is a crime punishable by up to three years in prison.
Poland’s current government, which came to power in December 2023, has promised to soften the country’s abortion law. However, it has so far failed to pass any such legislation due to disagreements within the coalition.
Court proceedings over Joanna’s second claim – for compensation over wrongful detention – are still ongoing. She has asked for 100,000 zloty, according to broadcaster TVN24.
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
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Agata Pyka is an assistant editor at Notes from Poland. She is a journalist and a political communication student at the University of Amsterdam. She specialises in Polish and European politics as well as investigative journalism and has previously written for Euractiv and The European Correspondent.
