Fighting for Abortion Rights: Left Government Vows to Push Forward with Liberalization at Local Elections

Some sad man came and said that not now, that we are radical, that this is not a good moment, that these are not good emotions. But you know what? I want to tell you one thing. We will not give up and we will see the liberalization of abortion law through to the end this term, said Katarzyna Kotula, Minister of Equality, on Saturday, referring to the decision of the Speaker of the Sejm, Szymon Hołownia, to proceed with the abortion law after the first round of local elections.

During the election convention of the Left, the Minister for Equality, Katarzyna Kotula, stated that the Speaker of the Sejm, Szymon Hołownia – by deciding that abortion bills would be considered in the Sejm on April 11, just after the first round of local elections – stole women’s holiday, Women’s Day.

– And what now? Will we be left with this sad mood, with the feeling that nothing can be done, that there is nothing we can do? No, absolutely. Because I wanted to tell you what gives me strength. “I draw my strength from the fact that I know that we, the MPs of the Left parliamentary club, we, the ministers in the October 15 coalition government, are damn good at delivering things,” he said.

– We promised government funding for in vitro and the bill was passed. We promised an over-the-counter morning-after pill. The bill passed the Sejm and passed the Senate. Mr. President (Andrzej – ed.) Dudo, we are waiting for your signature. We promised you the liberalization of abortion law and on the first day of the 10th term of office of the Sejm, we submitted two good bills to the Sejm. Decriminalization and liberalization of abortion law – she mentioned.

Katarzyna Kotula PAP/Rafał Guz

– And then a sad man came and said that not now, that we are radical, that this is not a good moment, that these are not good emotions. But you know what? I want to tell you one thing. We will not give up and we will complete the liberalization of abortion law this term, she declared.

– And if this sad gentleman thought for a moment that the local elections on April 7 would not be about women’s rights, then I have sad news for him. These local elections will definitely, and now certainly, be about women’s rights, your right to decide about your health, body and life, she added.

Dziemianowicz-Bąk: abortion up to the 12th week of pregnancy this term

Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk, the Minister of Family, Labor and Social Policy, also assured that abortion will be safe, free and legal up to the 12th week of pregnancy this term.

The head of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy also talked about the problem of mothers of premature babies. She admitted that this group of women noticed that maternity leave began immediately after the birth of the child, even though they had to stay in the hospital for many weeks. They postulated that maternity leave should begin after the end of hospitalization.

Katarzyna Kotula and Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk PAP/Rafał Guz

Dziemianowicz-Bąk announced that a draft bill will be ready this spring that will extend maternity leave for mothers of premature babies or those hospitalized after birth.

She also announced the preparation of a bill eliminating the pay gap between women and men. She also talked about the fight against the pension gap. – We will not raise the retirement age, but we will encourage women to work longer if they want to. Today, seniors are full of energy and potential. The state must simply allow them to use this potential. We will do this, appropriate draft laws are already being prepared, she added.

Żukowska: enough of keeping our rights in the freezer

The head of the Left Club, Anna Maria Żukowska, talked about what is happening in parliament. She referred to the announcement of Marshal Hołownia, who said that bills regarding abortion would be processed in the Sejm after the local elections on April 11.

The Left was the first in this term to submit two bills amending the abortion law. Żukowska said at the convention that the Left was fed up with keeping “our rights in the freezer.” – We have the right and we want the laws on termination of pregnancy submitted by the Left club to be considered in the Sejm – she emphasized and called on Marshal Szymon Hołownia to keep his word about the lack of a “freezer” in the Sejm.

Anna Maria ŻukowskaPAP/Rafał Guz

Speaking about the Left’s activities in parliament, she mentioned the draft amendment to the Penal Code, changing the definition of rape. – Do we want to feel, as women, that we are safe? This is the first thing women think about. It is also a matter of changing the definition of rape. The bill was submitted by MP Anita Kucharska-Dziedzic – Żukowska recalled.

Biejat: we can deal with many issues at the local government level

In turn, the Left’s candidate for president of Warsaw, Magdalena Biejat, expressed her belief that these elections are also about women and that even the Speaker of the Sejm, Szymon Hołownia, certainly understands this. In her opinion, “women’s rights are not an ideological issue or a scare for conservative politicians. – These are absolutely basic issues that we can also take care of in local government,” she said.

She pointed out that not every decision belongs to the “Wiejska”, i.e. to the Sejm. – We can solve many issues at the local government level, such as health care and good care in hospitals, so that no hospital has a conscience clause, and so that every woman who wants to have a child has access to good perinatal care – she said. .

Read also: Women to Marshal Hołownia: name your group Poland 1993 and we will be clear

Biejat pointed out that “it is the local government that decides whether we have good public transport.” – Women use it to, for example, take their children to school. In these elections, the Left demands that every commune have well-functioning public transport, she added.

– What distinguishes the Left from other groups is that among our activists you will find women and men who believe in the same thing. Who believe that taking care of women’s rights means ensuring a better life for all of us, she said.

Biedroń on “inscribing the right to terminate pregnancy in the constitution”

MEP Robert Biedroń announced that his group will fight to introduce the European Charter of Women’s Rights so that women in every European Union country have the same rights. – There is no third way in the matter of abortion, you are either for or against it, there is no third way – he said.