Poland has some of the strictest abortion laws. This German NGO has a solution

Across the globe, the rise of right-wing parties has stirred up the fight over abortion.

In Poland, which has some of the most restrictive laws in Europe, women can only get an abortion in cases of rape or incest, when the pregnancy poses a serious threat to a woman’s health, or when there is a severe foetal abnormality.

In cases when it is allowed, doctors often refuse to perform the procedure.

In 2016, thousands took part in the so-called Black Protests across the country when the ruling Law and Justice party proposed a total ban on the procedure. The government backed down but abortion remains illegal in most circumstances and the current parliament is making moves to restrict access even further.

Enter the Berlin-based activist group Ciocia Basia.

Their mission? To help women in Poland access abortions – in Germany.

The clue to what makes Ciocia Basia unique is in the name, which means “Aunt Basia” in Polish. The suggestion of a warm, supportive and trustworthy older relative is no accident.

The group provides psychological as well as financial assistance, with members offering up their couches, translating, and accompanying the women to hospital.

Ann and Aleksandra are two of the roughly 20-strong group of regular volunteers. They asked only their first names be used.

“Having to get this procedure abroad is stressful, so we’re there to comfort them and help make sure everything is organised so they don’t have to do anything other than to come here and have the procedure,” Ann tells The Independent.

The women find Ciocia Basia online or through word of mouth, and demand for their help is growing.

“According to the latest governmental report, we had about 1,000 legal abortions in 2018,” says Krystyna Kacpura, executive director of the Federation for Women and Family Planning NGO in Poland.

“We have five million women of reproductive age, limited access to contraception – especially emergency contraception – and no sexual education.

“Can you imagine 1,000 abortions in a country with five million women? No.”

Kacpura estimates that roughly 150,000 Polish women have abortions each year, using pills, illegal private clinics, or going abroad.

“We call this abortion migration or abortion tourism,” she adds.

No one knows how many women harm themselves trying to induce abortions, but Kacpura says doctors working in clinics close to the Polish border tell them they have many cases of unfinished self-performed abortions.

She adds that the restrictive laws have had a disproportionate effect on poorer women who can’t pay for travel.

In Ciocia Basia, Aleksandra estimates that at least half of the women wouldn’t be able to afford the procedure without their help. But telling the full story of the victims of Poland’s abortion law is a challenge.

While there has been pushback from pro-choice protesters, social pressure creates an environment where women are often too frightened and ashamed to speak about their experience of abortion – even anonymously.

“Sometimes we ask for a couple of sentences for other women, and it’s impossible because she just wants to forget,” Kacpura says.

Women who come to Ciocia Basia feel the weight of that pressure. They always want to explain their decision, even though the volunteers never ask.

Aleksandra says that the reasons they give are incredibly varied, whether “financial, being too young, being too old, having a horrible relationship”.

About 50 per cent of the women arrive on their own, and often haven’t told their family or partner.

“I translate for them at the clinic and usually there’s a general feeling of shame and secrecy,” she says. “They’re usually tense in the beginning but after they see it’s treated like a normal medical procedure and everyone is treating them kindly, they relax.”

Making abortion seem shadowy and disreputable is seen as one of the most powerful tools of the anti-abortion movement.

Abortion pills such as misoprostol can be discretely provided by pro-choice organisations such as Women on Web – anti-abortion groups may not be able to completely prevent access, but they can weaponise shame to control the discourse surrounding the procedure.

Ann describes one Polish woman’s experience of searching for information about abortion: “She was like, ‘You have no idea how many names I got called, [people saying] I should die and rot in hell.

“Then you find Ciocia Basia and everyone gives you the feeling that you are welcome, that your situation is normal, that you’re not a devil just because you want to have a medical procedure.’”

“I think there’s a lot of not taking women seriously, not trusting them with their choices,” Aleksandra says.

She was raised in Poland and blames the influence of the Catholic church for stigmatising abortion. “This is one of the main topics that they talk about, it’s just a huge deal. For some reason, their main ideological goal is to eradicate abortion access completely.”

Both she and Ann express frustration at the misinformation surrounding the procedure.

“Trauma is the main framing within the Polish discourse about abortion. Even liberal media perpetuates the myth that it always has to be this traumatic experience, although various studies have shown that the trauma is associated with stigma and not being able to talk to your family,” Aleksandra says.

“There’s a lot of weird dichotomies like ‘people who get abortions versus mothers’. People don’t realise that’s often the same person but at different life stages.

“I often have mothers who already know how much time, stress and emotion it takes to raise a child, and they’re like ‘I cannot do this again, I already have five kids.’”

Speaking openly about abortion is part of the new wave of activism, as pro-choice groups across the continent come together to defend reproductive rights.

The UK-based Abortion Support Network was the main inspiration for Ciocia Basia. Now, their organisation is part of a larger European network with the same pro-choice goal.

“I wouldn’t like a future where groups like ours are necessary,” Aleksandra says, “but if it goes the way it’s going now, then I hope more will start.”