Polish government works to limit access to EC

The ASTRA Network has informed us that in mid-February 2017, the Polish Government announced that it accepted a project proposing to restrict access to the only ECP available over the counter (UPA ECP). This project is to be discussed in plenary and voted upon in the next session of the Sejm, possibly as early as March. UPA ECP has been available in Polish pharmacies without a prescription since April 2015. The planned restrictions would greatly impede the lives of women and girls, contribute to the sales of this product from unsafe sources, and cause a rise in the number of unplanned pregnancies and abortions in a country where access to safe and legal abortions is already incredibly difficult. For more information, please read this article. 

ASTRA, together with ASTRA Youth, You Act, CHOICE for Youth and Sexuality, and ECEC, sent a letter on December 1, 2016 to the representatives of the European Commission to voice their concern on the current developments in Poland with regards to women and girls’ reproductive health and rights. That letter was resent following the project proposal to restrict access to UPA ECP and is available here.