Former Minister of Health Adam Niedzielski announced after the death of pregnant Mrs. Dorota in Nowy Targ in May that guidelines for doctors on abortion would be developed. Four months have passed since these events, and there are still no recommendations for specialists. They will be announced on November 15. Changing the date “has nothing to do with the election calendar, it has to do with the work of specialists,” assured Minister Katarzyna Sójka.
Mrs. Dorota, 33, died on the night of May 23-24 in the hospital in Nowy Targ. The woman was five months pregnant. The investigation into this case was conducted by the prosecutor’s office. The event shocked public opinion. There were protests under the slogan “Not one more”. The then Minister of Health Adam Niedzielski announced the development of guidelines for doctors on terminating pregnancies to prevent such tragedies. Four months later, there are still no guidelines. The matter was commented on by Katarzyna Sójka, who replaced Niedzielski as Minister of Health.
The guidelines will be announced a month after the elections
TVN24 reporter Maja Wójcikowska asked Minister Sójka whether moving the presentation of guidelines on abortion from September 12 to November 15 is related to the position of the episcopate or the electoral calendar. Elections will take place on October 15, the guidelines will be announced a month later.
Katarzyna Sójka on postponing the deadline for abortion guidelines
Katarzyna Sójka said that medical guidelines are “of course established by specialists.” – The guidelines simply work because doctors treat and admit patients, and the team works on whether anything can be improved or made more specific, which could possibly translate into even better functioning and support for patients in medical entities – she said.
– The extension results from a request submitted by the specialists themselves, i.e. doctors working in this team. I think that extending the period they asked for is a good answer on our part, added Sójka.
The minister assured that the change in the date of announcing the guidelines is not related to the electoral calendar. – Of course (changing the date – editor) has nothing to do with the election calendar. This is related to the work of specialists who need longer time to complete and detail their work, she explained.
Gajewska: Guidelines on abortion are not published because PiS is afraid of the reaction of voters. We have an election fairTVN24
The meeting on the guidelines was disrupted by Grzegorz Braun and Kaja Godek
The guidelines panel was scheduled to meet at the end of August. The meeting was canceled because Kaja Godek and Grzegorz Braun from Konfederacja stormed into the Ministry of Health. They entered offices, scolded officials and lectured policemen. Braun and Godek wanted to take part in the team’s meetings and accused the team and the Ministry of Health in letters. Petitions and pickets were organized against the team’s chairman, Professor Czajkowski.
Main photo source: TVN24