Dutch government “worried” about abortion limits Poland

Hoekstra said this in reaction to questions from several Dutch MP’s. Because of a ruling from the Polish Constitutional Court in October 2020, women in Poland can only get an abortion when the mother’s life is at stake or when the pregnancy is caused by rape or incest. This worries the Dutch government, says Hoekstra. The “increasing regressional pressure on sexual and reproductive rights in Poland is a reason for concern, according to the minister.

“Women from abroad, including Polish women, can undergo treatment in an abortion clinic in the Netherlands,” said Hoekstra. “However, this is not a right, and the Netherlands does not offer individual women financial support.” Every year, more than 3000 women from abroad undergo an abortion in the Netherlands, Hoekstra writes. That is around ten per cent of the total amount of annual abortions in the Netherlands.

Because of the war in Ukraine, Poland is hosting many refugees from that country. Russian soldiers are known to have raped Ukrainian women. What the Polish abortion terms mean for refugee women from Ukraine “is currently under discussion in Poland,” Hoekstra said.

Interesting

The Netherlands is an interesting country for Polish women because the abortion options are less strict than, for example, in neighbouring Germany. An abortion can be performed in Germany up to 12 weeks after conception. In the Netherlands, the legal limit is 24 weeks. In no other country of the European Union, the legislation is so broad.