CV NEWS FEED // The Polish Bishops’ Conference is continuing to appeal on behalf of expectant mothers and unborn children as pressure mounts to follow in the footsteps of France, which recently became the first country in the world to enshrine abortion as a constitutional right.
President of the Polish Bishops’ Conference Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki recently issued an appeal to believers and non-believers alike “to reflect deeply and protect the value of human life from conception to natural death.”
“It is an indisputable fact that human life begins from its conception, that is, the fusion of the parental cells” the archbishop stated, adding: “a new, unique person is created who develops dynamically, taking advantage of the shelter of the mother’s womb […] This is not a matter of religious conviction, but an indisputable fact, confirmed by the current state of biological science.”
He continued:
I therefore call for the building of a society of solidarity that does not exclude from our community the youngest, innocent children living under their mother’s heart. I appeal for their fundamental right to life to be respected and for their parents to be supported professionally and comprehensively
As France’s parliament approved a bill to enshrine abortion as a constitutional right on Monday, the Polish government has also recently seen increased efforts to pass laws that would seek to “liberalise” the country’s “near total abortion ban” as well as easing restrictions on contraceptives such as the morning after pill.
In response to the Sejm of the Republic of Poland’s consideration of bills such as these, Bishop Gadecki referenced the country’s Constitution, which “ensure[s] the legal protection of the life of every human being.”
Rather than pushing laws that ease restrictions on abortion, the bishop concluded, Polish lawmakers should be focusing their efforts on offering further protection against it, and “to increase assistance to pregnant women in difficult life situations.”
