In a recent Chamber judgment, P. and S. v. Poland, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Poland violated the rights of a 14-year-old girl who became pregnant after being raped. Under Polish law, abortion is only permitted in cases of rape or incest, or where the mother’s life is in danger. Although the first applicant “P” satisfied this threshold and received a certificate confirming her pregnancy was the result of rape, she was obstructed from accessing abortion services in two hospitals in her home town and eventually had to attend a hospital 500 km away in Gdansk. The authorities’ also accused the adolescents mother “S” of forcing her daughter to have an abortion and the authorities had “P” placed in a juvenile centre. The Strasbourg Court found that Poland had violated a number of the adolescents’ and her mother’s rights under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
The Court found two violations of Article 8, right to respect for private and family life, firstly, because she was hindered in her access to a lawful abortion; and secondly, due to the disclosure of her personal information by one of the hospitals. The Court also found a violation of Article 5, right to liberty, since the Polish authorities placed her in a juvenile home in order to separate her from her parents who the authorities accused of trying to force the abortion. Finally , the Court, taking into account her age and vulnerability, found that the treatment that “P” had to endure from hospital staff, church representatives, the police and the judiciary violated her right not to suffer inhuman and degrading treatment under Article 3. The Court noted that there was a lack of a clear legal framework on access to lawful abortion in Poland
This case is similar to an Irish case taken by three Irish women in 2010. Bulletin readers will remember that the ECtHR ruled, in A, B and C, that the Irish government has failed to provide “effective and accessible procedures” to allow a woman to assert her constitutional right to a lawful abortion. There has been pressure on the government to legislate since the 1992 Supreme Court ruling in the X Case which said that abortion is permitted in cases where there is a real and substantial risk to the life of the mother. The health minister is expecting an expert group which was set up to examine how Ireland can implement a European ruling on abortion rights, to submit its completed report ‘shortly’. Click here to read an article.
Click here to read a Jurist article: and a Journal article.
Meanwhile, in the cases of Głowacki v. Poland and Paweł Pawlak v. Poland, the ECtHR found against Poland for its “dangerous detainee” regime in Polish prisons. The Court ruled that the regime which involved solitary confinement, daily strip-searches and restrictions on family contacts amounted to inhuman and degrading treatment in violation of Article 3 of the Convention.
Click here to read an article on the judgments from Human Rights Europe.