Doctor’s Role in Protection of Dignity and Human Life
in Poland
Marek Kośmicki & Joanna MazanThe Catholic Association of Polish Doctors & Federation Life
Warsaw, Poland
10th Congress of FEAMC – New Challenges for Medicine and Health Care in Europe –
July 1-4, 2004; Bratislava, Slovak Republic
„A nation that kills its own children is a nation without a future”
John Paul II
• In our times many countries in the world witness intensive battles between the culture of life and the culture of death.
• A good example of such struggle between different attitudes towards life is our country – Poland.
April 27, 1956, the Act
regulating conditions for permitting abortion The Act allowed for abortion under three circumstances: 1. Hard living conditions meaning the so-called ‘social
reasons’*, 2. When there was a suspicion that the pregnancy was a
result of crime,3. Medical advice. .............* Social reasons were of the greatest importance, as in practice it meant the
lack of any restrictions with regard to abortion, i.e. ‘abortion on a woman’s request’.
1957-1992
• The media, which were almost completely controlled by the state, promoted only the positive attitude towards abortion.
• The main argument of the state propaganda was the woman’s ‘liberation’ from the necessity of giving birth and parental burden.
• Legal abortion was to be a symbol of progress and a benefit offered by a ‘socialist government’.
• Many doctors who objected to carrying out the procedures stipulated by the Act were dismissed from work.
• Young doctors who refused to perform abortion were barred from practising obstetrics and gynaecology.
• Over this 35-year period, it caused a certain negative selection of candidates to specialise in obstetrics and gynaecology:
• Only a doctor who did not oppose carrying out abortion could become a gynaecologist.
• A gynecologist who had no objections to performing abortion in his department could become and remain the head of department.
-50
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
550
600
1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005
years
(thousand)
source: Central Office of Statistics
Birthrate in Poland (1950-2002)
Pro-Life movements in Poland1970’s – to date
• ‘Care of Life’, Lublin & Katowice; ‘Gaudium Vitae’; ‘S.O.S’; ‘Pro Familia’, Warsaw; Prayer Crusade, Cracow; Pro-Life branch of Polish Doctor’s Association.
• Currently, those NGO’s are joined into the Polish Federation of Pro-Life Movements, recently called briefly ‘Life Federation’
• Doctors were and are involved as consultants and authors of pro-life literature.
• Doctors are also involved in concrete support of families and single mothers in need.
Pro-life organisations
played a key role in changing the
social mentality to be more geared
towards protecting life.
Change in social mentality
towards pro-human life attitude in Poland, 1980’s/90’s It was most difficult, but a very important action.
Without such change of public opinion’s attitude, no changes in
state legislation would be approved by the society.
People had to be prepared to the new law concerning into such extent their private lives.
January 7, 1993, a new Act on family planning, protection of human foetus , and
conditions for permitting the interruption of pregnancy.
The new Act limits abortion
to three conditions:
1. Pregnancy is a threat to the life or health of the mother
2. Conception is a result of crime (rape or incest)
3. Child is gravely ill.
1996-97 Abortion on demandis legal again
A modification of the Act in August 30,
1996, allowing for abortion
on social grounds.
• Manifestations against the modification of the Act were organised.
• A praying sit-down protests in front of the clinics where abortions were carried out.
• Three million outcries were sent to the Senate opposing the modification of the Act.
May 28, 1997, the Constitutional Tribunal: „Human life from conception is a value
protected by the Constitution”
„The law cannot be conflicting with the absolute human right to life from the moment of conception till natural death and the state cannot give this right but has the duty to accept and to protect it”.
The Constitutional Tribunal, Poland, 1997
The Act was brought back in the original version from 1993, which meant that ‘abortion on request’, i.e. on the social grounds was illegal.
2003 – 10th anniversary of passing
a bill on family planning and protection of human foetus The aim of the bill is care for the mother’s and child’s life
and health as fundamental welfare.
In 1993-2003 :
1. The number of abortions has decreased.
2. There is a systematic decrease in:
a. the number of deaths of women during pregnancy
b. the number of miscarriages
c. the still births ratio
d. the infant mortality rate.
Abortions recorded in Poland 1980-2002
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
years
Number (thousand)
source: Council of Ministers report of executing in 2001 the Act made on January 7, 1993 and Department of Health and Social Security report for the year 2002
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
years
Number
The number of deaths of mothers in Poland, 1991-2000
source: Council of Ministers report of executing in 2001 the Act made on January 7, 1993
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
years
Number (thousand)
The number of miscarriages in Poland, 1990-2001
source: Council of Ministers report of executing in 2001 the Act made on January 7, 1993
Present situation, 2004 - we cannot consider
solutions from the year 1993 to be definitive At present, labor
and discussions are taking place in
the Polish Parliament (Sejm)
on introducing changes to the bill
which protects life.
More emphasized by the media are the opinions propagating again the legalization of abortion due to social reasons.
However, there are other possibilities under discussion limiting the exceptions to the prohibition of abortion, for example due to congenital defect diagnosed during pregnancy.
The new amended version
of the Medical Ethics Code, Poland 2004 The Medical Ethics Code, 2004 includes: 1. Provisions barring doctors from euthanasia (article 31)
2. Insisting that in treating a pregnant woman a doctor is also responsible for the health and life of her child (art. 39)
3. Forbidding doctors from participation in human cloning, whether reproductive or therapeutic (art. 39a)
4. Forbidding scientific experiments on human subjects in their embryonic stages and restricting therapeutic experiments on human embryos only to such instances where the foreseen health benefits to the embryo significantly outweigh the health risks to the embryo (art 45)
Present discussion in Poland, 2004
The preliminary position that the
Polish government has adopted (2004), allows for the use of human embryonic
stem cells.
The Chief Medical Council has stated
its view (2004) that it is illicit to
harvest stem cells from human
embryos.
Present discussion in Poland, 2004 The chairman of the Chief Medical Council
There are no ethical contraindications for medical objectives to using human embryonic stem cells (for example from the umbilical cord blood or bone marrow) as long as it does not hurt the donor. However „the destruction of a human embryo to benefit other members of the human species homo sapiens sets a dangerous precedent for humankind”.
Doctor Konstanty Radziwill, the Chairman of the Chief Medical Council, Poland 2004
Final remarks
Many people in Poland believe that life protection, from conception to natural death, is
still the primary objective in our times.
The clear majority of doctors in Poland declare themselves to be in
favor of life.