EUROPE - In just two days, 170 parliamentarians from 24 countries across Europe including 26 MEPs signed a call to action voicing deep concern over two draft bills which are going to be voted in the Polish Sejm next week (15 and 16 April 2020) concerning both sexuality education and access to abortion.
The letter, calling on the Polish parliament to reject these draft bills, was sent today to the Marshal of the Polish Sejm; the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights and Secretary General; the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe President and Polish delegation; the COREPER Health Deputy Permanent Representatives and the European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety.
Tabled amidst the enforced lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, Polish society cannot take to the streets in protest as was seen in the 2016 so-called ‘Black Protests’. The letter reads,
“The current actions of the Polish government can only be considered as a cowardly move designed to evade democratic scrutiny as currently there are very limited options for Polish society to voice their opposition to such harsh initiatives”.
It continues,
“We urge the Polish Parliament to respect the right of women to make autonomous decisions about their own bodies and reproductive functions, which are at the very core of their fundamental right to equality and privacy concerning intimate matters of physical and psychological integrity. We also condemn the shift in Poland towards misinforming young people, and stigmatising and banning sexuality education. We call on the Polish Authorities to refrain from adopting the bill, which follows recent attempts to limit sexual and reproductive rights in Poland, including the right to abortion.”
Parliamentarians have been calling out the move on Twitter.
See below the full letter and signatories, as well as a letter from 88 All of Us MEPs and a thank you letter from The Federation for Women and Family Planning (Federa).