“To give birth with dignity, you will have to take out a loan. This is what the Poland of PiS and Confederation would look like”

Joanna Zaremba, Woman.gazeta.pl: Every second Polish woman aged 18-39 does not want to vote. Why?

Magdalena Biejat, Left Wing: I think many women feel that politics is not about them. They see too few women in politics who could represent their views and interests. Many are also disappointed – after the great mobilization of black protests that took over Poland after the judgment of the Constitutional Tribunal, they feel that nothing has changed. We are trying to tell women: this is not true! These protests changed a lot. Today, the absolute majority of people in Poland, including many PiS voters, believe that abortion up to the 12th week of pregnancy should be legal, available and free of charge for all women. This is confirmed by dozens of public opinion surveys. This is a huge victory.

The fact that democratic parties today have to explain whether they support the right to terminate pregnancy is due to the millions of women who took to the streets three years ago.

The left wants to show the participants of these protests that they have someone to vote for. You can count on us. We are always on your side.

From myself, I would like to tell all women in Poland that their voice counts very much. It was thanks to the votes of women from Warsaw that I got into the Sejm from fourth place on the Left’s list and had a chance to work as an MP for the last four years. I could fight for their causes, I could be the voice of women in parliament. Today I hear from many voters: “My vote was not wasted, I am proud of you.” Every vote matters.

Speaking of the judgment of the Constitutional Tribunal by Julia Przyłębska: soon exactly three years will have passed since the Constitutional Tribunal – at the request of the ruling camp – outlawed abortion due to severe, irreversible damage to the fetus. Since then, she has died, among others: 30-year-old Izabela from Pszczyna – doctors delayed the decision to terminate the pregnancy, so sepsis set in. She orphaned two children. These tragic stories are not isolated. Justyna from Wodzisław Śląski was only 34 years old. Agnieszka from Częstochowa – 37, Dorota from Nowy Targ – 33…

What the Constitutional Tribunal did at the request of PiS and Confederation is a scandal and deepens women’s hell – there is no doubt about that. However, the fact is that in Poland, even before this judgment, it was difficult to obtain a legal abortion on the grounds of fetal damage. There were also doctors who concealed the condition of the fetus and pregnancy from women, such as Dr. Chazan. 20 years ago, Agata Lamczak died due to refusing to perform an abortion. We know of cases in which doctors did not want to terminate the pregnancies of crime victims. Abortions were denied to girls under 15. This must change – not only at the level of law, but also in the mentality of doctors. Abortion is treated in Poland as a crime, a crime, and not a normal procedure that a woman sometimes needs.

That is why, as an MP, I submitted a draft rescue bill to Marshal Witek, i.e. deleting the so-called assistance in abortion from the Penal Code. Today, this provision is used to pursue and persecute women after abortion or even miscarriage. Their apartments are searched, they are dragged to prosecutor’s offices and police stations, they are kept in emergency rooms – just like a few months ago in Krakow.

The situation you are talking about occurred in April. Mrs. Joanna took early abortion pills legally, and the pregnancy was a threat to her health. The deepening physical and mental crisis caused her to notify her doctor and go to hospital. There she was treated – to put it mildly – like a criminal. The police searched her and questioned her, took her phone and laptop. They told her to undress, squat, and cough.

Taking abortion pills is always legal – self-abortion is not and never has been a crime in Poland. I want to emphasize this because many women are afraid of criminal consequences, and Polish law simply does not provide for such consequences.

Unfortunately, state authorities today treat women after abortion, even women after miscarriages, as criminals. They cannot always count on the support of doctors. There are doctors in Poland for whom comfort, conscience and lack of problems are still more important than the life and health of their patients. For me, it is absolutely scandalous that today brave women and men doctors – such as Dr. Gizela Jagielska from Oleśnica – are under constant fire and ruthless attack from the far right. They are intimidated and at the same time cannot ask for support from the Supreme Medical Chamber, and when women lose their lives and health, the Supreme Medical Chamber does not intervene.

This is all turned on its head. Yes, the law should be changed, but we should also make sure that abortion is no longer a cause for shame, that it is no longer something that should not be mentioned and should be hidden in hospital statistics. Abortion was, is and will be. Doctors and politicians who make laws in Poland must understand this.

There is speculation that if PiS wins, it may form a coalition with Confederation. Although polls from a few days ago indicate that even in such a combination they would not obtain a majority in the Sejm, let’s play “what if” for a moment. What would the situation of women be like in Poland ruled by such coalition partners? Because we know that they want to tighten what is already one of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe, for example from Michał Wawer’s statement on TVN24.

This would mean a disaster for women in Poland. The Confederation wants to put us in prison for abortion, and Janusz Korwin-Mikke, who denies us voting rights, could have a place in the government.

The PiS-Confederation government also means deeper discrimination against women on the labor market, the collapse of care services and a complete collapse in health care. Let us recall that Mr. Mentzen wants complete privatization of this sector. This would mean that you would have to take out a loan for the birth. This is what the country would look like under the rule of PiS and Confederation. That’s why women must vote to stop this madness.

One of the important and also louder projects of the Left is a law changing the definition of rape. It is being talked about a lot during this year’s campaign. The point is that, within the meaning of the law, the essence of this crime is based on the lack of consent, and not on the principle of “failure to acknowledge resistance” by the person experiencing rape. Of course, there are already interpretations that this would violate the principle of the presumption of innocence. But that’s not the point at all.

Today in Poland, the police, courts and part of the public are more likely to believe rapists than their victims. Shocking court decisions are regularly made because, for example, the victim did not scream or resist “enough.” And this best shows how much we need a change in the law. Our proposal introduces the principle that any sexual intercourse to which one of the parties has not consented is considered rape. That’s all and that’s it. This means that when a policeman, prosecutor or judge is faced with such a case, his task will be to investigate whether the person concerned has given consent – and not whether he has not given it.

This change seems small, but it is significant. It can radically improve the situation of people who have experienced sexual violence. And the fact that after the announcement of our project, there was a chorus of mainly male voices that “now they will have to have consent to sex” is the best proof of how much this law is needed.

Speaking of male voices. The program and demands of the Left are accused of not taking into account the situation and problems faced by Polish men.

We put emphasis on women because women are discriminated against in Poland – on the labor market, in families, in health care. But we do not want to introduce women’s rights at the expense of men, we simply want a more friendly, caring state that will take care of the interests of all citizens. Take mental health, for example. Men are more likely to experience mental crises and commit suicide more often. And the Left has been fighting for free, accessible psychiatry and psychology for years. It was the Left MP, Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk, who prepared the act on the profession of psychologist and therapist, which has a chance to finally establish certain standards of treatment and therapy. (The Act on the profession of psychologist is intended to regulate the principles and conditions for obtaining the right to practice the profession of psychologist and the principles of its exercise, as well as the organization of the professional self-government of psychologists – ed.).

Many of the demands we address to women will also make men’s lives easier. Greater equality in the labor market and in childcare means, for example, that they will have the chance to establish a good bond with their children, and at the same time it will take away the pressure from them to be the main breadwinner in the family.

And most of our programming is genderless. When will we build 300,000 in Poland? apartments for rent, everyone will be able to live in them. Importantly, these apartments are not only for families, but also for singles. Such an apartment will be available to a young man just entering the labor market, as well as to an older man who, for various reasons, cannot afford to continue living on his own.

Finally, although it may sound a bit trivial: what must change in order for women to regain full rights?

I don’t even know where to start… Women in Poland are taught from childhood that it is inappropriate for them to loudly demand their rights. And at the same time, if they already have these rights, it is difficult to “enforce” them. And it covers a whole range of issues, both access to anesthesia during childbirth and decent treatment at the gynecologist.

Inequalities affect not only young women, but also seniors. The state is blind to the fact that of the more than 340,000 retirees who are not entitled to a pension, 80 percent are women. These numbers don’t come out of nowhere. Women are usually unable to earn a decent pension during their lives because they are temporarily excluded from paid work to take care of children, people with disabilities in the family or sick, elderly parents or parents-in-law. This responsibility usually falls on them. The state does nothing to support them in these tasks or to take over some of these tasks. When there is a crisis and something needs to be saved, the cuts usually concern education, health, health care – because these can always be “blamed” on women.

Therefore, I would like to add once again that women must vote. They should vote for the party, politicians and politicians who guarantee them their rights. Vote according to your conscience and interests, because this is what democracy is all about.