Abortion in Poland: History of a Paradox

Ada Grudzinski

In the 1950s, the young determined MP Maria Jaszczuk managed to pass a law recognizing the right to abortion. Poland became a pioneering country in Europe and a source of hope for many women living on the other side of the Iron Curtain. But since 2021, abortion has been nearly completely banned in the country. How to explain this total shift in only half a century? Paradoxically, it was Solidarity’s rise to power that reversed the course of events. Their alliance with the Church, vital to the success of their democratic movement against communism, came with strings attached. Abortion was progressively restricted starting in 1989. By telling this story, the film shows how reproductive rights have constantly been held hostage by politics, at women’s expense.