Justyna Wydrzyńskas egen oplevelse med en abort uden støtte eller adgang til pålidelig information gav hende styrke og motivation til at hjælpe andre tage et informeret valg. Justyna er medstifter af Abortion Dream Team, et aktivistisk kollektiv, der kæmper mod abortstigmaet og tilbyder råd til, hvordan man kan få en sikker abort i Polen, hvor abortlovene er blandt de strengeste og mest restriktive i Europa.
I februar 2020 blev Justyna sat i kontakt med Ania (ikke hendes rigtige navn). Ania var i et voldigt forhold, gravid og desperat. Hun sagde, at hun hellere ville dø end at fortsætte graviditeten. Justyna, som selv har overlevet et voldeligt forhold, vidste, at hun skulle hjælpe. Hun sendte Ania sine egne abortpiller med posten, men Anias partner fik fat i pakken først og kontaktede politiet, som konfiskerede pillerne.
I november 2022 blev Justyna anklaget af statsanklageren for at “hjælpe med en abort”. I marts 2023 blev hun fundet skyldig og dømt til otte måneders samfundstjeneste. Hendes advokater har appelleret dommen.
Justynas dom sætter en farlig præsedens. Uden den støtte og pålidelige information, som hun og andre aktivister formidler, vil folk som Ania være alene og uden adgang til sikre aborter.
Justyna viser sit mod på trods af den fjendtlighed, hun møder, og udtaler: “Jeg var drevet af viljen til at hjæIpe, når ingen andre ville eller kunne hjælpe. I mine øjne var det at hjælpe Ania det åbenlyse, ordentlige og ærlige at gøre.”
Kræv, at statsanklageren gør alt for at sikre, at Justynas uretfærdige dom bliver omstødt.
Justyna Wydrzyńska’s own abortion experience, with no support or access to reliable information, gave her the strength and motivation to help others make informed decisions about their reproductive lives. Justyna co-founded Abortion Dream Team, an activist collective campaigning against abortion stigma and offering advice on accessing safe abortion in Poland, where abortion laws are among the most restrictive in Europe.
In February 2020, Justyna was put in contact with Ania (not her real name). Ania was in an abusive relationship, pregnant and desperate, saying she would rather die than continue with her pregnancy. Justyna, a survivor of a violent relationship herself, knew she had to help. She sent Ania her own abortion pills through the post, but Ania’s partner intercepted the package and contacted the police, who confiscated the pills.
In November 2022, the public prosecutor brought charges against Justyna for “helping with an abortion”. In March 2023, she was found guilty and sentenced to eight months community service. Her lawyers have appealed.
Justyna’s conviction sets a dangerous precedent. Without the support and trustworthy information that she and other activists provide, people like Ania would be alone and without access to safe abortion.
Demonstrating her courage in spite of the hostility she faces, Justyna says: “I was driven by the will to help when no one else wanted to or could help. For me, helping Ania was an obvious, decent, and honest thing to do.”
Demand the prosecutor general take all necessary measures to ensure that Justyna’s unjust conviction is overturned.
Artikel 25
- Enhver har ret til en sådan levefod, som er tilstrækkelig til hans og hans families sundhed og velvære, herunder til føde, klæder, bolig og lægehjælp og de nødvendige sociale goder og ret til tryghed i tilfælde af arbejdsløshed, sygdom, uarbejdsdygtighed, enkestand, alderdom eller andet tab af fortjenstmulighed under omstændigheder, der ikke er selvforskyldt.
- Mødre og børn har krav på særlig omsorg og hjælp. Alle børn skal, hvad enten de er født i eller uden for ægteskab, have den samme sociale beskyttelse.
Article 25
- Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the
health and well-being of himself and of his family, including
food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social
services, and the right to security in the event of
unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other
lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
- Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and
assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall
enjoy the same social protection.