Polish Woman Dies When Doctors Refuse Treatment, Fearing for Fetal Life

It's easy to worry about the ways in which abortion rights — and women's health more generally — are under attack in the upcoming election. What's easier to overlook are the ways women's health is compromised in countries with seemingly less debate at the intersection of religion, health care, and women's rights.

This makes it particularly distressing to read about Edyta, a Polish woman who died after being refused medical treatment for a colon condition simply because it might have interfered with her pregnancy. In fact, her condition was exacerbated by her pregnancy in the first place, but no matter for her doctors. Still in her first trimester, Edyta was turned away repeatedly by local physicians who never stated their explicit reasons for denying her care — that treating the disease could result in a miscarriage or could force an abortion — and eventually, Edyta died.

Poland is one of several countries (along with Italy, Hungary, and Croatia) in which doctors, not unlike pharmacists in the U.S., can refuse to treat someone on moral grounds. While troubling, it usually does not present a case like Edyta's because the doctor is required to explain the reason for refusing treatment. Then, a woman can be referred to another physician who is willing to risk the pregnancy to save her life. For the most part, this compromise (as if there should be one when a woman's life is at risk) has been working.

Edyta's case (which we've covered before) has been in the news this week after the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) did not pass a resolution intended to cut down on these types of incidents. The resolution, which would have been a major victory for women's health advocates, would have provided guidelines for how to balance individual conscientious objections to treatment with the priority of women's health and saving a mother's life. As it still stands, there is very little oversight in terms of how personal religious and moral beliefs affect women's ability to receive unbiased, proper health care. The text of the final document now states that "no person and no hospital or institution shall be coerced, held liable or discriminated against in any manner because of a refusal to perform, accommodate, assist or submit to an abortion." In other words, want to object to an abortion on any grounds? Fine by us.

As a parliamentary assembly, PACE is only allowed to recommend and advise nations, though the organization's influence is fairly substantial. Let's hope that by the time their winter session rolls around, enough pro-choice advocates in Europe will have rallied around this issue to fight for change. Just because PACE doesn't make the law doesn't mean their authority doesn't matter. If cases like Edyta's continue, the blood will be on their hands.

H/t Akimbo

Photo Credit: Libelul