Open letter to prime minister Miller

Honorable Prime Minister,

The visit of the Dutch ship of Women on waves stimulated a new debate about women's rights to abortion.
'Committee STER - Women decide' cooperates with the Foundation of Women on waves. We are an informal Polish group which brings together individuals and organisations who support legal and safe abortion.

We stress that the current law in Poland about family planning, protection of foetus and the existing conditions permitting abortion hurts, discriminates and restricts women.
The situation is even worse because the state does not realise the paragraphs in the current law which were supposed to enable women to terminate pregnancies under certain conditions.

Since years already we demand the state to create a possibility for women to decide about their motherhood through sexual education, and access to contraceptives and safe and legal abortion.
Before the law will change in our favour it is necessary that the current paragraphs wich protect women from unwanted motherhood are fully realized. Despite many declarations from the Prime Minister that such actions will be undertaken by the governement, the situation has not changed.

That is why we now demand concrete answers to the following questions:

- When will sexual education be introduced in schools? Objective education, according to international standards and suitable to children and youngsters.

- When will the list of refoundable contraceptives be broadend with new hormonal contraceptives, including the morning after pil, in such a way that it will be possible for women to make an individual choice on the use of contraceptives?

- What actions will be taken to guarantee women who are entiteled to have an abortion that their rights are respected by all institutions which influence the implimentation of the current abortion law?

- What actions does the governement plan to undertake in order for Polish women to, like in other developped countries, have access to the contemporary medical science in the field of prenatal examination?

The Federation for Women and Family Planning, which is a member of the 'STER committee - Women decide', has a lot of experience with the issue of the current anti-abortion law because of our activities. We declare that we are willing to help in planning activities which will result in true application of the current law. We appeal to you to be involved in all activities serving this purpose.

Sincerely yours,

Wanda Nowicka

Federation for Women and Family Planning
STER committee - Women decide