Posted on 03/21/2007 4:53:11 AM PDT by IrishMike
THE Polish government was ordered to pay a woman more than £26,000 yesterday after she was prevented from having an abortion despite doctors' warnings that she could lose her sight if she gave birth.
The European Court of Human Rights ruled that Alicja Tysiac, 36, whose eyesight worsened after the baby girl was born and who is now registered as disabled, had been denied her human rights under the Roman Catholic country's strict anti-abortion laws.
The court ordered Poland to pay her about £17,000 in compensation and £9,500 in costs.
Campaigners last night described the ruling as "one of the most important" made by the court at least a decade.
Ms Tysiac, who is bringing up three children alone, suffers from an eye disease and cannot see objects more than five feet away. She receives a monthly disability pension equivalent to £95.
She became pregnant in 2000. Three doctors told her she could go blind if she gave birth to her third child, but refused to write her a certificate that would authorise an abortion.
Poland has some of the toughest abortion laws in Europe. It allows a pregnancy to be interrupted only when it threatens the life or health of the mother, when the baby is likely to be permanently handicapped or when it originates from a crime such as rape or incest.
"Thousands of women are denied abortions that they are legally entitled to in Poland every year," said Wanda Nowicka, president of the Polish Federation for Women and Family Planning.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.scotsman.com ...
Just about the only thing that WAS allowed under the previous (commie) regime.
Where's "daddy"?
We couldn't hatch as many chicks as we wanted to ...
What ever happened to democracy? In a democracy the people get the laws that they want.
In my opinion, laws must not be imposed by an outside force; laws must spring from the peoples' need and desire to set limits on behavior.
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