Lela, Pregnant in Poland, Faces Life-Threatening Delays While Denied an Urgent Abortion

Credits: My Voice, My Choice

Imagine a pregnant woman in a hospital, who every day feels her body giving way a little more, while vomiting blood and unable to even feed herself, with type 1 diabetes and serious complications that the pregnancy is worsening, knowing that a medical procedure to abort could save her life, and yet it is denied to her, and she has to wait for who knows what, trapped in a system that ignores her health and her life.

This, dear readers, does not happen in a third-world country, but in the "very civilized" Europe, in Poland. Lela has clearly said what she wants: she wants to survive, she wants to be with her husband and children, she has things to live for. She has requested to terminate a pregnancy that risks killing her, but instead of receiving immediate care, she has to endure delays, hesitations, bureaucratic procedures, while her situation worsens.

It is not an isolated case. Polish law allows abortion when a woman’s health is at risk, but in practice this right always faces obstacles, leaving women trapped in hospitals waiting for who knows what, perhaps the worst.

It is not a matter of political or ideological opinions: a woman’s life is at risk, it does not matter if it was a wanted pregnancy with unexpected consequences or an unwanted pregnancy, it does not matter whether precautions were taken or not, it is a matter of life or death! Lela is a real person, she is a mother with a family waiting for her and she has the right to receive life-saving care without having to prove how much she deserves to survive, her life comes first. All these wasted time, this hateful and unnecessary bureaucracy, the things that stand between her and the necessary treatment, are a direct risk to her life.

And as time passes, you should know that it is not only Lela: millions of women in Europe live similar experiences, facing forced travel, unsustainable expenses, medical risks, and psychological pressure that wears down body and mind, because the system decides who deserves care and who must wait until collapse. No woman should live this. No life should be treated as negotiable.

"My Voice, My Choice" is the only association taking care of Lela’s case, you will not find any mention of her in mainstream media because it is inconvenient to talk about these things, better to keep everything under the rug. A petition has been opened with a letter addressed to Jolanta Sobierańska-Grenda, Polish Minister of Health, and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, asking them to do something for this poor woman. You can find the link here below, I have already signed it.

https://sign.myvoice-mychoice.org/forms/solidarity-with-lela-eng

References:

https://left.eu/my-voice-my-choice-a-bittersweet-response/
https://www.myvoice-mychoice.org/