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http://www.mediterraneas.org/article.php3?id_article=113Reproductive Rights in the European Court of Human Rights
In the past few decades, European countries have made significant advances in women’s reproductive rights, but the struggle is far from over. A woman’s right to control her own body remains elusive in many countries. Ireland, Malta, Poland, and Portugal still impose severe restrictions on abortion, with serious consequences for the health, social status and quality of life of many women. In Portugal, women continue to be prosecuted for having abortions and in Slovakia, Romani women have been forcibly sterilized.1 Women in most countries in Central and Eastern Europe do not have access to the full range of family planning methods; the region has one of the lowest contraceptive prevalence rates in the world. Access to reproductive health information and services, including unbiased sexuality education, is a problem in most countries in Central and Eastern Europe. In many countries of Central and Eastern Europe, adolescents and certain ethnic and immigrant minorities face particular discrimination and barriers to exercising their reproductive rights.
The European Court of Human Rights (Court), the body empowered to enforce the European Convention on Human Rights (Convention), has tremendous potential to advance reproductive rights in the region. It can receive complaints from individuals alleging that a country has violated the Convention. The Court can issue legally binding judgments against the state.
The Court can advance reproductive rights throughout Europe in at least three ways:
* by articulating and applying international and regional standards on human rights, including reproductive rights, when these rights are not adequately protected at the national level;
* by guaranteeing reparations for victims whose rights have been violated; and
* by encouraging countries to undertake legislative and policy changes to better protect reproductive rights.
... About the first thing done in Poland when "freedom" and "democracy" were imposed was to outlaw abortion in all but the narrowest circumstances. http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/reproductive_rights/abortion_bans/index.htmlMay 25, 2007
Poland May Appeal European Human Rights Court Ruling On Abortion
Polands Via the Post Chronicle:
Poland could appeal verdicts pronounced by Europe's rights court declaring Warsaw authorities violated abortion and gay rights.
Marek Jurek, of the Polish Right group, suggested Poland should appeal the two rulings, which he said violated rights guaranteed by Polish law, Radio Polonia reported Thursday. Jurek said the Polish government should defend the right to life in the case of abortion.... In March, the court awarded compensation to a Polish woman whose eyesight was severely damaged during childbirth after the Polish government denied her permission to have an abortion. Well, nobody defended the woman's right to eyesight, and obviously nobody gave a shit about her right to life either. That's the question I keep asking the anti-choice brigade, of course: the first time a woman DIES after being denied permission to have an abortion (even if it was because she didn't want stretch marks), who is going to be charged with the homicide? http://www.reproductiverights.org/ww_europe.html#polandappealsCenter Applauds Landmark Abortion Decision by European Court of Human Rights
March 20, 2007 -- The European Court of Human Rights held, for the first time, that governments have a duty to establish effective mechanisms for ensuring that women have access to abortion where it is legal. The case centers on the tragic story of Alicja Tysiąc, a Polish woman who nearly went blind because she was forced to continue a pregnancy that threatened her health. "There are thousands of women who are denied access to abortions they need and are legally entitled to in Poland every year," said Christina Zampas, Senior Legal Adviser for Europe at the Center. "This decision means that the Polish government—and other governments in Europe—must take steps to make sure that women like Tysiąc don't needlessly suffer at the whim of doctors."
(links)
* Read the Center's press release > >
* Read the Court's decision > >
* Read the Center's legal memorandum > >
* Read the Reuters article on the case > >
* Read the Guardian article on the case > >
Poland Appeals Tysiąc
(June 2007)
The Polish government has announced that it will appeal the case of Tysiąc v. Poland to the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights. The case centers on the story of Alicja Tysiąc, a Polish woman who went nearly blind because she was forced to continue a pregnancy that threatened her health. In March of this year, the European Court of Human Rights held, for the first time, that European governments have a duty to ensure that women have access to abortion where it is legal. The conservative League of Polish Families (LPR), a ruling party in the government, has consistently pushed to ban abortion completely. "I hope that the Grand Chamber will reject the appeal," said Christina Zampas, Senior Legal Adviser for Europe at the Center, adding that "the Polish government should focus on protecting women's health rather than continuing a political fight with dire consequences for women."
(links)
* Read the Court's decision > >
* Read the Center's press release > >
* Read the Court's press release > >
* Read the Center's legal memorandum > >
* Read the Reuters article on the case > >
* Read the Guardian article on the case > > Anyhow, Portugal ... forgive the source: http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/jul/06070505.htmlFive Convicted of Abortion Crimes in Portugal
LISBON, Portugal, July 5, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A doctor, a nurse and three women were convicted yesterday of illegal abortion activity, after the state appealed a 2004 acquittal of charges against the five.
The women were given suspended prison sentences of six months each, reported Lusa News Agency. The nurse was given a 16-month prison sentence, and the doctor will spend three years and eight months in jail. The defendants have 15 days to appeal the sentencing to the Supreme Court.
Abortion is illegal in Catholic Portugal, except for cases of rape or if the mother’s health is seriously endangered. All abortions are illegal after 12 weeks gestation, regardless of the circumstances. At least they did it up right in Portugal; they charged the women who obtain abortions too. The reproductive rights site above has links to more info: Abortion Legalized in Portugal
(April 2007)
President Cavaco Silva of Portugal recently signed a bill to legalize abortion on request during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy. In March, the Portuguese parliament voted to reform its abortion law, which had criminalized the procedure except when a woman's life or health was at risk and in cases of rape. While Portugal's legal restrictions on abortion were in place, tens of thousands of Portuguese women underwent illegal abortions every year, many under unsafe conditions and some resulting in prosecution. Under the new law, a woman in the first 10 weeks of an unwanted pregnancy will be able to seek safe abortion services without fear of criminal prosecution.
* Read about the Center's participation in a hearing at the European Parliament on restrictive access to abortion in Portugal and other countries in the European Union > >
* Read testimonies from Portuguese women who spoke at this hearing as well as the Center's remarks > >
* Read about the work of the Portuguese Family Planning Association (APF) and their partners > >
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