Warsaw, 12 April 2016
Dear All,
We are greatly concerned by the new proposal to walk away from the compromise reached with the adoption of the antiabortion law in1993.
This compromise emerged from a profound discussion and was reached with great efforts. As many other agreements based on concessions made by all interested parties, during the past twenty years, it was challenged by those who supported abortion on demand and those who favoured total abortion ban. During the past two decades, the power of this compromise protected opponents from radical shift in the law, in whatever direction. Therefore, we have decided to defend it.
We do not share the same views on everything but we are mothers and we think with great concern about our daughters and all Polish women. Therefore, we call on all concerned to abstain from actions which will bring Polish women, facing dramatic and difficult decisions, into a situation where they will be forced by law to act heroically.
Each abortion is a woman’s drama but we must not add to women’s anguish by forcing them to give birth to rape-conceived children or to risk their life and health or that of their children.
We want to caution you, since any breach of the agreement, which has been in place for a long time, will inevitably replace this difficult compromise with a never-ending and highly destructive fight which may cause unpredictable changes and extreme, mutually exclusive solutions whenever there is a change of government.
Sincerely,
Anna Komorowska
Jolanta Kwaśniewska
Danuta Wałęsa