During the remote plenary session (23-26/11/2020) of the European Parliament in Brussels, MEPs debate on the ruling of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal, which effectively bans abortion, and call on the Polish Government to guarantee every woman’s right to her own personal choice in such cases. Ilustration shots of the Chancellery in Warsaw, Poland.

Abortion rights in Poland: extracts from the debate and illustration shots

Title: Abortion rights in Poland: extracts from the debate (I-199186)

SOUNDBITE (English), Helena DALLI, European Commissioner for Equality, Strong women's rights are an asset and an achievement which the whole of Europe must be proud of, but progress is hard won and easily lost and we see this in Europe and worldwide. As President von der Leyen said, backsliding is not an option for a continent that aims to win the future.

SOUNDBITE (English), Frances FITZGERALD (EPP, IE), To the woman of Poland, we in the European Parliament support you. We salute you and we stand with you. Poland, 'Women's Helln no more. Thank you.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Iratxe GARC&#205;A P&#201;REZ (S&amp;D, ES), The voice of this Parliament needs to be heard. It reflects a society which will not give up the fight for equality. We can't allow our daughters to have fewer rights than their mothers. And that's what's happening at the moment in Poland. So the Social Democrat group will be fighting to guarantee the rights and freedoms of women. Let me recall that today, six years ago, the government of the People's Party in Spain tried to change the abortion law, tried to undermine women's rights, and Spanish women took to the streets in Spain just as women took to the streets in France, in Italy, in Berlin, in many countries of the European Union. Spanish women fought the law, joined together to stop the new law in Spain. When we get together, we're strong.

SOUNDBITE (English), Samira RAFAELA (RE, NL), We need to have a clear call to action together with my colleagues for Renew Europe and our other allies, we demand that EU funding to the Polish government to be cut if they fail to respect the rule of law. Secondly, we will continue to support civil society movements in Poland in their fight for women's rights. Last but not least, we demand that the Commission works on guaranteeing universal access to sexual and reproductive health services, including abortion, and for these rights to be included in the next EU health strategy.

SOUNDBITE (Polish), Sylwia SPUREK (Greens/EFA, PL), Once again, we're talking about the Polish government, fundamental rights, the rule of law, human rights. There is no rule of law in Poland anymore. There is no public media, there are no rights for women every year in Poland, we move further away from Paris, Berlin and Rome. And this perhaps here is the last place where you can speak about women's rights without fear. Now, you can threaten us, but you cannot stop us speaking because we're in the European Union.

SOUNDBITE (Polish), Robert BIEDRO&#323; (S&amp;D, PL), We need to stand by them. There is no abortion compromise, what we have is a 'hell for women'. In the past, our grandmothers and mothers suffered. Now we're fighting for the rights of our children and the rights of their decisions and the right to take their own decisions.

Illustration part:  Chancellery in Warsaw, Poland

Abortion rights in Poland: extracts from the debate and illustration shots

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