Women's rights activists in Poland have opened what they say is the world's first delivery locker supplying abortion pills in a country with one of Europe's most restrictive abortion laws.
Known as the "Abortomat," the locker is in a building opposite the Polish parliament, in what activists say is a clear message to politicians like Donald Tusk. The Polish prime minister pledged to introduce abortion on demand up to the 12th week of pregnancy before the 2023 parliamentary election, but his coalition has been unable to agree on a common position.
Only two European Union member states, Poland and Malta, do not allow abortion on request.
In Poland, abortion is only allowed when the pregnancy is the result of a crime — rape or incest — or when it endangers the health or life of the woman.
Pink lockers and PIN codes
Justyna Wydrzynska, an activist from a nonprofit organization called Abortion Dream Team, showed DW the "Abortomat" in a small room behind a tasseled portiere at Abotak, Poland's first abortion center.
Abotak, Poland's first abortion center, is situated opposite the Polish parliament and houses the 'Abortomat'Image: Adam Easton/DWInside, the pink lighting is subdued. Glitter tassels, baubles and spotlights make it feel a bit like a disco, she said.
The "Abortomat," which opened in late September, has 22 pink lockers. To open one, a woman receives a PIN code from the organization Women Help Women after completing a medical questionnaire, which is then checked by a doctor.
Parcel lockers have sprung up like mushrooms after rain in Poland in recent years. Even the smallest villages have them.
"When you walk around Poland, vending machines are everywhere. This is our culture. People in the US have Amazon, we have vending machines for everything," said Wydrzynska.
Convicted of helping a woman to have an abortion
Women in Poland who have an abortion are not criminalized. But anyone who helps them terminate a pregnancy risks up to three years in prison.
In 2023, Wydrzynska was the first activist to be convicted in Poland of helping a woman to have an abortion by sending her pills. The conviction was later overturned, and the court ordered a retrial.
'Abortomat': World's first abortion pill-dispensing locker in Poland
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Inside each compartment at the "Abortomat" is a package that normally contains two drugs, mifepristone and misoprostol, usually taken up to the 14th week of pregnancy.
Because mifepristone is not registered in Poland, the drug must be ordered from abroad where it is legal. Information on how to do this is not easy to come by, which is where Abortion Dream Team and Abotak come in. They help women find information about accessing medication, which is sent from abroad by Women Help Women, or help them to travel abroad for a termination.
A 'complicated' legal situation
Wydrzynska said she believes the "Abortomat" does not break the law because it is a machine, not a person, that is delivering the pills, although she admits she is not sure.
Dr. Sabrina Mana-Walasek, a reproductive rights lawyer representing Wydrzynska, said the legal environment for abortion pills is "complicated."
She said that although mifepristone is not registered in Poland, it is registered in the European Union and, as EU citizens, Polish women can order it and take it.
"If a woman orders pills for herself and pays for them herself, it's not a crime," she said.
Opposition from Catholic groups
The ultra-Catholic legal group Ordo Iuris disagrees and has notified the prosecutor's office that the activists are committing a crime.
"In the case of an 'Abortomat,' the actions enabling a woman to have an abortion are theoretically performed by the woman herself using the device, but the reality is that this machine is operated by people — they send the code required to open the compartment containing abortion pills, they order and procure the pills, and they restock the compartments," said Katarzyna Gesiak, director of the Ordo Iuris Center for Medical Law and Bioethics.
Comforting messages can be seen inside the Abotak center Image: Adam Easton/DWWydrzynska said anti-abortion activists regularly demonstrate outside Abotak, using horns and loudspeakers to generate loud noise to annoy the center's residential neighbors and pressure the landlord to revoke their rental agreement.
At one demonstration, a woman holding an image of the Virgin Mary told DW she believes abortion "is the work of Satan."
"Abortion is evil, it's demonic, it's against the fifth Commandment, 'Thou shalt not kill,'" she said.
Support for women seeking an abortion
Earlier this year, Diana, a 25-year-old Ukrainian woman living in Warsaw, used abortion pills during her sixth week of pregnancy before the "Abortomat" started up. She got the pills using information provided by Abortion Dream Team.
Diana told DW that she has never wanted to have children.
"I was expecting something like a headache, stomachache, maybe vomiting, but I had nothing like that. It was just like a normal period. I didn't feel any pain. It was really easy for me," she said.
"I felt relief because I knew that it was the right choice for me. I knew that I can live my life," she added.
Before receiving a PIN code for the locker, a woman first has to complete a medical questionnaire from the organization Women Help WomenImage: Adam Easton/DWAnother Abortion Dream Team activist, Natalia Broniarczyk, said they help about 130 women daily in Poland. About 125 of these women use pills that cost about €75 ($83), while the remainder travel to a clinic abroad.
In contrast, just 851 abortions were performed in Polish hospitals last year.
Rising support for right-wing parties
Broniarczyk is concerned about the rising support for right-wing parties ahead of next year's parliamentary election, but she's also furious at the inactivity of liberals in Tusk's coalition.
"I'm mad at the liberals because for three years, they did nothing to protect us. They lost three years and now, when we're close to an election, they are fighting for our voices and respect. People are more progressive than politicians," she said.
After taking office in 2023, Tusk's coalition, which includes left-wing and conservative partners, were unable to agree a common position and their separate bills failed to obtain parliamentary approval in 2024.
Natalia Broniarczyk believes Poland's president, Karol Nawrocki, will use his power of veto to block two bills recently passed by the country's parliament that would make abortion more accessibleImage: Adam Easton/DWAfterwards, Tusk said abortion on request would not be possible during the current parliamentary term.
Two bills approved by parliament
In October, however, two bills were resubmitted to the Sejm, the lower house of parliament, and were narrowly approved.
One reinstates severe irreversible fetal defects as a justification for a legal termination. This justification had been ruled illegal by the Constitutional Court in 2020 when the previous right-wing Law and Justice (PiS)-led government was in power.
The 2020 ruling led to tens of thousands of people, mostly women, taking part in street protests in towns and cities across the country, some of the largest since communism fell in 1989.
Lawmakers also approved a bill partially decriminalizing anyone who helps a woman terminate her pregnancy.
According to the results of a recent poll conducted by SW Research for Onet.pl, almost 61% of respondents said they want the country's right-wing president, Karol Nawrocki, who is backed by PiS, to sign into law the bill on the fetal defect justification.
Nawrocki opposes abortion, and both Wydrzynska and Broniarczyk think he will use his power of veto to block the bills, preventing them from becoming law.