Joanna took an abortion pill – police intervention in the hospital. Kamila Gasiuk-Pihowicz and Magdalena Biejat comment

Mrs. Joanna decided to take the abortion pill because the pregnancy was supposed to threaten her health. She felt bad both physically and mentally. She informed her doctor about it. In the Krakow hospital, she was interrogated and searched by the police. The officers took her laptop and phone.

SEE THE MATERIAL OF “FACTS” TVN: Joanna took the abortion pill. The police came to the hospital, took her laptop and phone

IN Facts after Facts”, Mrs. Joanna said that she was “very harshly” treated by the officers. She also said that at one point the police officers told her to strip naked. “I was terrified then,” she admitted. Referring to the course of the police intervention, she assured that earlier in a conversation with her doctor she said that she “does not intend to do anything to herself”.

The case was referred to in the second conversation of the Wednesday edition of “Fakty po Faktach” by MPs – Kamila Gasiuk-Pihowicz (Civic Coalition) and Magdalena Biejat (Left Together).

I think there are two situations here. Firstly, it is unfortunately the case, and we see it – intervening as Members – on a regular basis that the police, but also the doctors, do not know the law. And they believe that women can be prosecuted for having an abortion. So people who are supposed to uphold the law are actually breaking the law. And here we have a perfect picture of it – said Biejat.

– But the second issue, much more serious, or equally serious, is the fact that the police today are clearly not just an ordinary formation that is supposed to comply with the law and regulations. It only works on political orders – she said. – That is why today, together with Krzysztof Gawkowski (head of the Left parliamentary club – ed.) We demanded, and we will demand, the dismissal of the chief of police, because today the police are clearly carrying out political orders – she said.

– And for me it is obvious that today the police do not guard our safety. It does not uphold our rights as women. He only guards the apparatus of repression, which is intended to intimidate us – said Biejat.

The MP on TVN24 thanked Joanna for having decided to tell her story. – It is very important to publicize these matters. And I know that he does it for all of us, for women, but it is equally important to say that abortion is legal in Poland, said the member of the Left Club.

– Let’s repeat it every time. The police have no right to search us, interrogate us, confiscate our belongings, interfere with our medical examination because we have terminated our own pregnancy. We have the right to order abortion pills, we have the right to take them. We have the right to make that decision. And nobody has anything to do with it – summed up Biejat.

The case was also commented on by Kamila Gasiuk-Pihowicz. – It must be said directly. We have the Taliban in Poland. And this is a situation created by specific people – by Kaczyński, Law and Justice politicians, supported very eagerly by the Confederation – she stated.

– What we saw in this footage, a shocking degradation to the limits of human possibilities, this is precisely the situation we are dealing with because we have ideological terrorists who put pressure on individuals and, as you can see, the police show excessive servility in towards the people who remain in power and who practice this ideological terrorism, she continued.

She emphasized that “performing an abortion by women is not a crime”, but – as she added – during the eight years of the current government’s rule, “projects were put on the agenda that assumed such criminal liability for up to 10 years”. – And it is worth remembering, because this is the stake that will also be at stake in the upcoming elections – will we live in a country that is governed by the rule of law, (where) state authorities operate on the basis of the law, or do we have policemen who have the right, to put it bluntly, somewhere, and they are more guided by the pressure of ideological terrorists, do we have a state that takes care of a woman in a difficult situation, supports her, or do we have a state that is able to exert coercion, pressure on a naked woman who bleeds, she continued.

According to the KO MP, “every woman who goes to the doctor today looking for care and support in a difficult moment, unfortunately in the country PIS she cannot be sure that she will be cared for, supported in this difficult moment. “Rather, she may be afraid that she will be subjected to such inhuman, hideous treatment as we have seen,” she added.

The police released a statement on Wednesday in the case described by “Fakty” TVN. “Due to the fact that there was a suspicion of committing a crime in the form of helping a pregnant woman to terminate her pregnancy through funds from an illegal source, it was necessary to secure the devices that the woman used to finalize the purchase of these funds (laptop, telephone)” – the Police Command said. Municipal Police in Krakow. “At the same time, the police had to check whether the woman had any drugs from an unknown source that could threaten her life after taking them” – added.

Also issued a communiqué Ministry of Health.

“The information did not concern an abortion or the adoption of an early abortion pill, but a threat to the patient’s life,” the ministry said. He added that the police accompanied the emergency medical team, which went to the patient as a matter of urgency.

“From the medical point of view, the conduct of doctors and hospital staff was correct” – the Ministry of Health noted. At the same time, it indicated that police officers should be contacted with their superiors regarding the conduct of police officers.

The situation also met with reaction of the Supreme Medical Chamber, the Ombudsman and the Ombudsman for Patients’ Rights.