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CONTRIBUTION IN ORIGINAL LANGUAGE
W4R 2023: Poland – Justyna Wydrzyńska
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.
Justyna Wydrzyńska's own abortion experience without 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 the Abortion Dream Team, an activist group that campaigns against the stigmatization of abortion and provides advice on accessing safe abortion in Poland, where abortion laws are among the most restrictive in Europe.
In February 2020, Justyna was linked to Ania (not her real name). Ania was in an abusive relationship, pregnant and distressed, saying she would rather die than continue her pregnancy. Having survived an abusive relationship herself, Justyna knew she had to help. She sent Ania her own abortion pills in the mail, but Ania's partner intercepted the package and contacted the police, who confiscated the pills.
In November 20212, the public prosecutor's office brought charges against Justyna for "assisting in an abortion". In March 2023, she was found guilty and sentenced to eight months of community service. Her lawyers have filed an appeal.
Justyna's conviction sets a dangerous precedent. Without the support and trustworthy information she and other activists provide, people like Ania would be alone and unable to access safe abortion.
Justyna demonstrates her courage despite the hostility she faces, saying, “I was driven by the desire to help when no one else would or could help. For me, helping Ania was a natural, decent and honest thing to do.”
Call on the Attorney General to take all necessary measures to ensure that Justyna's unfair conviction is overturned.
