The death of a pregnant woman in Poland who was left untreated because of the country's abortion laws has sparked calls for change. Reproductive rights activists have called on lawmakers to re-examined legislation, which they said violated women's rights in the country.
A 30-year-old resident identified only as a woman named Izabela died inside a Polish hospital in September because of septic shock. Her death was only made public by her family last week.
Izabela was reportedly 22 weeks pregnant when she went to the hospital due to problems with her baby. Due to an existing law passed by a court ruling last year, doctors refused to give Izabela an abortion.
The law prohibited the abortion of fetuses with congenital defects. Izabela's baby reportedly suffered from a defect that caused a lack of amniotic fluid. The condition would have also caused her baby to have abnormalities and malformations while still in the womb.
Lawyers representing Izabela's family said doctors refused to abort the baby and told her that they would have to wait for the fetus to die before they could operate. Ultimately, Izabela and her baby died while they were waiting for doctors to make a decision.
In response to the case, the hospital where Izabela was admitted said staff members did everything they could to save Izabela and her baby. Hospital officials reasoned that all medical decisions that were made took into account all legal provisions and standards of conduct.
Earlier in the week, rallies and candlelight vigils for Izabela were held in Poland's two major cities. The demonstrations occurred barely over a year after the Constitutional Tribunal upheld the abortion legislation.
Poland, which is predominantly Catholic, already has one of Europe's strictest abortion laws, prohibiting the operation in almost all circumstances except for rape or incest and if the woman's life or health is in danger.
In a statement, Izabela's family claimed that they made the circumstances of her death public in part to bring public attention to the status of women and physicians in Poland. The family hopes her story will lead to reforms in the legislation.
