Far-right European Parliament lawmaker and long-shot Polish presidential candidate Grzegorz Braun is facing a potential investigation after he stormed a hospital on Wednesday and threatened a doctor with a citizen's arrest for performing a legal late-term abortion Gizela Jagielska said she was signing some administrative documents when a crowd of about 30 men stopped her from leaving and told her she should be arrested he called me a serial murderer,” Jagielska told POLITICO which have been condemned by both the Polish justice minister and the country's equality minister “He pushed me when I wanted to get out of the room.” In a video posted by the lawmaker Braun said he was at the Oleśnica District Hospital to arrest Jagielska after she performed an abortion on a fetus with rare skeletal dysplasia which severely endangered the life of the mother The member of the European Parliament can be seen entering the hospital Declaring he would enact a “citizen's arrest” for the “crime of taking a life,” Braun followed Jagielska around the office asking the other men to call the police and vandalized a Christmas tree adorned with baubles bearing EU and Ukrainian flags He was joined by Polish MP Roman Fritz, in what he on social media called a “parliamentary intervention." On Thursday, the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Wrocław announced it will open an investigation into the incident at the hospital POLITICO reached out to Braun but did not hear back by the time of publication Jagielska said performing abortions in Poland has always been hard but things have gotten more difficult in recent years "There is much politics in it," Jagielska said "Politicians changed but it didn't help much." government officials were quick to denounce the MEP's actions Braun’s behavior “exceeds all ethical and perhaps also legal boundaries” and “the prosecutor's office must react quickly and firmly," Polish Justice Minister Adam Bodnar said Thursday “These are acts of terror against patients, doctors, and hospital administrators,” Poland’s Minister for Equality Katarzyna Kotula told the TVN24 news channel Jagielska is not new to abortion protesters As a doctor performing abortions in one of the countries with the strictest abortion laws in Europe she has seen her fair share of pro-life demonstrations and online hate Her hospital attracts crowds of pro-lifers at least once or twice a week But on Wednesday things escalated beyond anything she had experienced before many pro-life demonstrations in front of the hospital for years but it never has happened that those people came to the hospital,” she said Police said they were called to the scene when “a group of unauthorized people entered the hospital” and “disturbed the operation of the medical facility and the peace of patients," they said in a post on social media “The scariest part was that I was trapped in the upper room and I couldn't get back to see what was happening in the ward,” said Jagielska Significant foreign aid cuts threaten to undo decades of progress in global health Researchers warn that decades of progress in HIV treatment and prevention could be undone “Europe cannot afford to remain reactive,” the European Commission will warn in strategy to be unveiled on Wednesday There is no evidence of an increased risk to the U.K.’s livestock Apr 16, 2025 | Law, Politics, Society Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers We cannot do what we do without your support The Polish Society of Gynaecologists and Obstetricians (PTGiP) has called on the health ministry to clarify the legal interpretation of abortion regulations following a controversial case involving the termination of a pregnancy at 36 weeks In a letter to health minister Izabela Leszczyna the society requested confirmation of how the phrase “termination of pregnancy” should be interpreted in cases where the mother’s life or health is at risk The case has been criticised by conservative organisations who argue that there should be legal consequences for those involved in performing such a late-term abortion and that such a case could even be considered “homicide” The case that prompted the request involved a woman identified only as Anita who sought an abortion in the final weeks of her pregnancy due to a suspected foetal defect and mental health concerns Her story was reported by the Gazeta Wyborcza daily in March a patient at the Central Clinical Hospital of the Medical University of Łódź was informed late in her pregnancy that her child might suffer from congenital bone fragility when Anita said she was considering terminating the pregnancy doctors placed her in solitary psychiatric confinement against her will and refused her request for an abortion despite psychiatric certification indicating a risk to her mental health the hospital proposed an immediate caesarean section under general anaesthesia and the doctors declined to perform a foetal asystole induction a method involving the injection of potassium chloride to stop the foetus’s heart prior to performing an abortion the abortion was carried out at a hospital in Oleśnica The local prosecutor’s office has since launched an investigation Koszmar Anity pokazuje, że kobiety nie mogą liczyć na bezpieczne aborcje w polskich szpitalach. Przeczytajcie 💔 Anita, jesteśmy z Tobą i Twoimi bliskimi https://t.co/9NSlXzYOSD pic.twitter.com/ySzvJgrpWG — Legalna Aborcja (@LegalnaAborcja_) March 17, 2025 abortion is permitted only if the pregnancy threatens the woman’s life or health or if it is the result of a criminal act such as rape A 2020 ruling by the Constitutional Tribunal removed foetal defects as grounds for legal abortion As the near-total ban came into force, it became more important for medical professionals and patients to determine if mental health issues qualified as valid grounds for an abortion or not. In guidelines published last year the health ministry stated that they should be treated as such abortion due to serious foetal defects was allowed only until the foetus could survive outside the womb typically considered to be around 24 weeks of gestation a life- and/or health-saving abortion was and still is permitted at any stage of the pregnancy Two more weeks to save @notesfrompoland We're halfway through our campaign and we've received 300 donations from our readers But to continue our work we still need your help. Click below to learn more https://t.co/0gVkMlaA0W — Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) April 15, 2025 the PTGiP said that although abortion is legal at any stage if the mother’s life or health is at risk once the foetus can survive outside the womb “termination of pregnancy…cannot consist of the intentional killing of the foetus” The society warned that doctors could otherwise be prosecuted under article 152 § 3 of the penal code which criminalises terminating a viable pregnancy an act which carries a penalty of up to eight years in prison Leszczyna told the Rzeczpospolita daily that the health ministry is preparing a response to the letter She has also ordered an inspection of the case by the National Health Fund (NFZ) and the commissioner for patients’ rights she criticised the 2020 Constitutional Tribunal ruling stating: “This ruling has left doctors without clear guidance…and has left women without support and understanding when faced with overwhelmingly dramatic choices.” 🔴 TYLKO U NAS: Aborcja w 9. miesiącu ciąży. Minister zdrowia @Leszczyna komentuje dla „Rzeczpospolitej” Kliknij w zdjęcie, by przeczytać artykuł @d_pietrzyk 🔽 https://t.co/M4Nd3RICJH — Rzeczpospolita (@rzeczpospolita) April 15, 2025 Anita’s case has sparked outrage from right-wing organisations opposed to access to abortion suggested that allowing abortion on mental health grounds “has now become a loophole that is used to allow abortion on demand” our lawyers are even considering whether…we can speak of homicide,” she told Catholic broadcaster Radio Maryja She went on to explain that if that was the case there could be a possibility that the woman could also “be held responsible for the death” has also called for those responsible to be held accountable “The 37th week of pregnancy is a time when the baby is ready to be born,” they said in a statement “It is not a premature birth anymore.” W oleśnickim szpitalu zabito dziecko nienarodzone w dziewiątym miesiącu ciąży. "Nasi prawnicy rozważają, czy mówimy jeszcze o pomocnictwie, czy możemy już mówić o zabójstwie z punktu widzenia KK" – mówiła mec. Magdalena Majkowska z Instytutu Ordo Iuris.https://t.co/NdT0wXNFgR — Radio Maryja (@RadioMaryja) April 7, 2025 Main image credit: MART PRODUCTION / Pexels Alicja Ptak is senior editor at Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist , , Karol Nawrocki even suggested that the state security services were involved in creating the scandal , , The 1,200 square metre national symbol was unfurled on the beach in Międzyzdroje , , The proportion of Poles saying the US has a positive influence on the world has also fallen to its lowest recorded level Apr 30, 2025 | , , , That response will include “large Polish and NATO exercises in Poland” Apr 29, 2025 | , , , Those employed in Poland work on average the third-longest hours in the European Union Apr 28, 2025 | , , , , Westinghouse and Bechtel were first chosen in 2022 as partners on the 192 billion zloty ($51 billion) project please consider helping us to continue and expand it [email protected] Copyright © 2025 Notes From Poland | Design jurko studio | Code by 2sides.pl Senior Research Fellow at the Global Europe Centre ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR Weronika Strzyżyńska is currently studying journalism at Goldsmiths as a Scott Trust Bursary recipient She  has written on issues immigration and Brexit for New Statesman and Prospect Agnieszka Wądołowska is managing editor of Notes from Poland She has previously worked for Gazeta.pl and Tokfm.pl and contributed to Gazeta Wyborcza ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland and assistant professor of history at the Pedagogical University of Krakow He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications The Independent and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR Stanley Bill is the founder and editor-at-large of Notes from Poland.He is also Senior Lecturer in Polish Studies and Director of the Polish Studies Programme at the University of Cambridge Stanley has spent more than ten years living in Poland He founded Notes from Poland in 2014 as a blog dedicated to personal impressions cultural analysis and political commentary He is committed to the promotion of deeper knowledge and understanding of Poland He is the Chair of the Board of the Notes from Poland Foundation ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR Professor of European Studies at Oxford University ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR Professor at the Institute of History of the Jagiellonian University ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR Executive Director of Taube Family Foundation ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR Associate Professor at the Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Science ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR The police in Lower Silesia have arrested four individuals suspected of online harassment against Dr. Gizela Jagielska, a gynecologist, local daily Gazeta Wyborcza Wrocław reported Unofficial sources indicate that one of those arrested in the investigation is a Catholic priest from the Podkarpacie region in southern Poland "The arrested individuals face charges of making criminal threats in a statement to the Polish state news agency PAP Dolnośląska policja zatrzymała cztery osoby podejrzane o hejtowanie w internecie lekarki Gizeli Jagielskiej Last week, MEP and presidential candidate Grzegorz Braun a member of the far-right Confederation of the Polish Crown stormed a hospital in southwestern Poland in an attempt to prevent Dr The gynecologist had previously performed a legal abortion on a woman at 37 weeks of pregnancy due to threats to the woman's physical and mental health As reported earlier by Radio Poland Jagielska described being unlawfully detained in the hospital's secretary’s office where Braun and a group of unknown individuals confined her for over an hour The gynecologist claimed they prevented her from providing care to patients Braun's recent actions are just the latest in a long series of provocations expelled from the Confederation party in early 2024 has previously made headlines for widely condemned inflammatory actions - including extinguishing Hanukkah candles in parliament with a fire extinguisher and disrupting a Holocaust memorial at the European Parliament Source: IAR/Gazeta Wyborcza/facebook.com/wyborcza CA Immo exits non-core market Serbia with the sale of the 19,600 sqm office building Sava Business Center in Belgrade Both the sales price and the buyer are subject to confidentiality As the PBSA sector finally takes off in Poland it is now increasingly attracting international operators and investors Eurobuild CEE spoke to Xior's investment manager about why it has such confidence in the Polish market Residential developer Develia has signed a preliminary agreement to acquire all the shares in Bouygues Immobilier Polska the Polish subsidiary of Bouygues Immobilier ESA logistika has leased 15,000 sqm in Prologis Park Piotrków GLP has completed the development of its Wrocław V Logistics Centre and has received a BREEAM rating of Outstanding Panattoni has secured EUR 40 mln in financing from BNP Paribas for the development of Panattoni Park Sosnowiec IV Newgate Investment (NGI) and Redkom Development are developing a large retail park in Bydgoszcz Deutsche Hypo – NORD/LB Real Estate Finance has provided a five-year green loan to Olivia Seven for the refinancing of the Olivia Prime A office building in Gdańsk-Oliwa communications and security company Motorola Solutions has signed a five-year lease renewal 18,000 sqm at the Green Office complex in Kraków’s Podgórze district Falling interest rates and easing monetary policy across the eurozone and CEEi are boosting investor confidence in the region’s commercial real estate market reveals Colliers in its ‘Beyond Real Estate | Economy’ report Panattoni is to build the Panattoni Park Mainz Süd in Erbes-Büdesheim bei Alzey Axi Immo has presented its latest report “Warsaw Office Market – Q1 2025 The market opened in 2025 on a steady footing with a notable increase in leasing activity and a modest decline in vacancy landlords continue to focus on upgrading existing assets and prioritizing quality over quantity Convenience store chain Żabka has officially opened a new logistics centre in Kąty Wrocławskie The first stage of the development will serve 1,500 stores in the Wrocław area Romanian Post has leased over 5,000 sqm of logistics space in CTPark Bucharest to serve as its temporary regional courier and logistics hub for Bucharest JLL has announced the sale and leaseback of two properties by a manufacturing company in a deal worth over PLN 1 bln Warehouse developer CTP is adding 2,000 sqm to its Clubco coworking development in Brno pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank has extended an investment facility to PineBridge Benson Elliot for the Diuna Office Park in Warsaw The hotel market in Bucharest continued its recovery in 2024 while the ADR has finally surpassed the milestone of EUR 100 Torus has announced its All.inn students’ residence concept that is soon to appear on ul Panattoni has been granted a EUR 14 mln loan from Alior Bank for the development of an 11,190 sqm centre for a leading logistics operator Xior has bought the Basecamp Wrocław student residence Sienkiewicza has 780 rooms and is the largest in Poland in terms of floor space Newgate Investment has completed the purchase of a retail park at ul 16,000 sqm and stands on the site of a former Tesco hypermarket investors bought commercial real estate with a total value of EUR 155.8 mln according to a study by Fortim Trusted Advisors followed by investments from Lebanon and Romania (9 pct) Berlin Hyp has just released the findings of its Trendbarometer survey of just under 140 real estate professionals Santander Bank Polska and Helaba have granted AFI a total of EUR 120 mln in refinancing for four PRS assets under the brand AFI Home in Warsaw This is the largest transaction of its type in this sector in Poland Panattoni has secured financing from mBank for its latest 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The Polish warehouse market has finally stabilised after the post-pandemic boom but new challenges and opportunities are on the horizon for the sector UBM Development has been given the go-ahead for the first wooden office building in Poland: Timber Park in Poleczki Business Park in Warsaw The office market in Warsaw is currently experiencing a period of stability in terms of supply and take-up Recent data on overall tenant activity indicates that clients in the cap .. Receive all the latest information from the world of real estate by e-mail the construction of the Aura residential building designed by Robert Konieczny's office KWK Promes According to a report by research company Spectis “Construction companies in Poland 2025-2030” the total revenues of the 300 leading construction gro .. 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Enjoy the last set of recordings with comments straight from this year's MIPIM we asked experts from our home country for their input will take place on 9-10 April 2025 at the Norblin Factory Event Hall in W .. we invite you to hot episode of the "Eye to eye" podcast The UN Nansen Refugee Award award will go to Poland for the first time According to the office of the UNHCR High Commissioner this year's regional wi .. Czech developer CTP has been granted a EUR 200 mln loan from the European Investment Bank for the roll-out of its large-scale solar panel installation .. while the ADR has finally surpassed the milestone .. Jarosław Szanajca plans to resign from the position of president of the management board of Dom Development at the end of the year and join the superv .. The Polish and Danish governments have entered preliminary discussions for the construction of a tunnel between Szczecin and Copenhagen underneath the .. Viterra has moved into its ​​new 1,500 sqm offices in Olivia Prime part of the Olivia Centre business complex in Gdańsk Panattoni has acquired two properties near Gothenburg The brownfield sites will be replaced by a modern 43,000 sqm facility Contemporary cities are grappling with the challenge of fostering dynamic growth while alleviating environmental pressures Colliers has taken over the management of the Studio B office building located in the Warsaw Wola district The property is owned by Stena Real Estate .. The University of Warsaw has signed a contract with the general contractor for a project at ul The new building will house the faculti .. Velis Real Estate Tech is officially changing its name to Singu adopting the title of its property management product the construction of the Panattoni Park Unterfranken has officially started The incident occurred at a hospital in Oleśnica where Braun and a group of supporters confronted Dr a gynecologist who had terminated a pregnancy in the 37th week In a comment to Gazeta Wyborcza Wrocław Gizela Jagielska described being unlawfully detained in the hospital's secretary’s office saying that MEP Grzegorz Braun and a group of unknown individuals confined her for over an hour She claimed they prevented her from providing care to patients Lekarka Gizela Jagielska: Pacjentki są zastraszone Prosecutors confirmed the group blocked the doctor from leaving her office and prevented her from performing her duties was reportedly carried out after severe fetal abnormalities were detected late in the pregnancy with doctors citing a potential risk to the mother’s health Authorities are now investigating multiple allegations Prokuratura Okręgowa w Zielonej Górze skierowała akt oskarżenia przeciwko posłowi na Sejm RPhttps://t.co/ccgZV7nlq9 spokesperson for Poland’s National PublicProsecutor's Office is granted legal protection similar to that of a public official." involving the assault and defamation of a medical professional prosecutors initiated an investigation under stricter laws that apply to crimes committed against public officials Lekarzowi, w określonych warunkach, przysługuje ochrona prawna należna funkcjonariuszowi publicznemu.Dlatego też w poniższej sprawie, dotyczącej m. in. naruszenia nietykalności cielesnej i znieważenia lekarza, prokurator wszczął śledztwo na podstawie surowszych przepisów… https://t.co/mxYg9LLkhd Grzegorz Braun's provocative political actions spark controversy A polarizing figure in Polish politics, Grzegorz Braun has gained attention for a series of controversial actions Once a member of the far-right Confederation party he was expelled in early 2024 following a string of provocative incidents One widely condemned moment saw him using a fire extinguisher to put out Hanukkah candles during a ceremony in the Polish parliament he disrupted a Holocaust memorial event at the European Parliament further cementing his reputation for inflammatory behavior Source: IAR/PAP/X/@Prok_Okreg_ZG/@PrzemNowak_/facebook.com/wroclawwyborcza Supporting water and clean energy with innovative pipes and fittings we have a role to play to make a positive difference Since launching our long-term strategy in 2021 The Olesnica plant in Poland is setting the pace on gender diversity Aliaxis Poland’s sales doubled through product innovation and by entering new markets It’s making great strides on using recycled material and is a leader on renewable electricity we commissioned a new automated assembly line for ball valves mechanical devices that control fluid flow using a pivoting ball we strengthened our commitment to decarbonisation with a new eco-friendly production facility in Mannheim The building features an innovative roof that collects and gradually releases rainwater reducing flood risks while creating a natural cooling effect and a green space Solar panels will soon partially power three buildings onsite marking another step in our journey to reduce CO2 emissions in 2024 we introduced our next-generation REDI® Non-Return Valves which are designed to offer protection against backflow Looking to access paid articles across multiple policy topics Interested in policy insights for EU professional organisations A Polish gynaecologist was barricaded in an office for over 50 minutes as police intervened in an escalating confrontation with protestors Underwritten Produced with financial support from an organization or individual yet not approved by the underwriter before or after publication MP and member of the Confederation (Konfederacja) party is seen during a press conference at the Parliament [Photo by Attila Husejnow/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images] a Konfederacja MEP and Polish presidential candidate stormed a hospital in Oleśnica on Wednesday Braun attempted a so-called 'citizen's arrest' of Dr Gizela Jagielska a gynaecologist who performs legal abortions Braun accused her of murder and demanded her detention Dr Jagielska was blocked in the administration office for over 50 minutes Police arrived at the scene and spoke with those involved "My patients are waiting for me in the delivery room, but I cannot go to them. It's madness," Dr Jagielska told OKO.press after the event Braun and several unidentified individuals blocked her path in the administrative department Footage published by the media showed Braun and others praying during the event He also pressured police to arrest the doctor and contacted the local police chief accusing her of disrespect for life and comparing her to a war criminal The confrontation was triggered by the case of Anita, reported by Gazeta Wyborcza Anita was diagnosed with a severe foetal abnormality After receiving conflicting medical advice and even being placed in a psychiatric hospital she ultimately underwent a legal abortion performed by Dr Jagielska in line with Polish law and approved by a national medical board The case has sparked outrage among right-wing groups "The fact that this was a late pregnancy is irrelevant- if there is a medical indication termination is allowed at any stage," said Sabrina Mana-Walasek lawyer and co-founder of Prawniczki Pro Abo Braun argued that equality before the law should apply to all and then it is critical who takes care of us Will it be a doctor like Dr Gizela Jagielska or a good doctor who wants to save us?" he said Braun also claimed he wanted human life to be respected in Poland and questioned why Dr Jagielska remained employed "No one is safe while such people are at work," he added Police recorded the identities of those involved in the incident including members of the Góralskie Veto group who accompanied Grzegorz Braun and an anti-conflict team were at the scene Braun later claimed that the hospital had violated his personal rights The District Prosecutor's Office in Oleśnica has since opened an official investigation into the hospital events spokesperson for the Wrocław prosecutor's office stated that the proceedings concern unlawful deprivation of liberty as well as clarifying whether the incident involved assault or insult of the doctor Commenting on the incident on social media spokesperson for the Minister of the Interior and Administration stated: "Police took steps to ensure the safety of the doctor verbally attacked by Grzegorz Braun and the hospital in Oleśnica Documentation of Braun's group's incursion is being analysed for potential crimes and offences as well as the actions of the hospital management and police officers present We will not allow such scandalous actions against any person or institution." Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak also weighed in "Anyone who threatens doctors or disrupts hospital operations will face severe consequences Healthcare workers deserve respect and support Police will strictly enforce the law in such cases." Deputy Speaker of the Senate Magdalena Biejat announced that she is filing a complaint with the prosecutor's office regarding Braun's assault on the hospital endangering the health and lives of patients and their children The only place for Grzegorz Braun should be prison Krzysztof Sowinski has cried every day since his wife Marta died of sepsis in 2022; he believes doctors put Marta’s life in danger by not giving them the option to terminate the pregnancy while the fetus’ heart was still beating Janusz Kucharski also lost his partner Justyna to sepsis in the fifth month of a pregnancy that these women would be alive if not for Poland's increasingly restrictive abortion laws Abortion has been illegal in the country since 1993 but a 2020 ruling by Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal removed one of the exceptions to the law—fetal abnormalities—and imposed a near-total ban on abortion Now women can terminate a pregnancy only if the women’s life or health is at risk (including mental health risks with a psychiatric diagnosis) or if there is reasonable suspicion that the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest Yet as examples from across the country indicate, what the law allows is not actually what is happening in practice. The consequences of the reproductive-­rights rollback have been dire. Women who have abortions are not prosecuted under the law, but doctors and others who help women terminate pregnancies If an abortion takes place beyond the point of viability then the person who aided in the abortion may face up to eight years in prison This creates what many consider a “chilling effect,” as doctors scared of running afoul of the law hesitate to take lifesaving steps for pregnant patients “Patients are powerless and doctors are increasingly fearful,” says Professor Marzena Debska claiming a lack of clarity in the laws is preventing doctors from performing abortions on women with serious pregnancy complications 60 countries have liberalized abortion law with only four rolling back its legality: the U.S. there were seven maternal deaths in Poland Such low figures have persisted for more than a decade “Every year we estimate that there are almost three times as many deaths as appear in the statistics If a patient dies in the intensive care unit and not in the gynecology and obstetrics department nothing in the certificate will link her death to the pregnancy,” says Dr head of the epidemiology and biostatistics department at the Mother and Child Institute in Warsaw (Poland’s Ministry of Health declined to answer multiple requests for comment about the reliability of the statistics.) With doctors reluctant to intervene the deputy director of the public hospital in Olesnica and a gynecologist who performs many of the few legal abortions that still take place in Poland.  Jagielska says the anti-abortion movement calls her a “baby killer” but she is undeterred using the premise of saving a woman's life because who else will help these women?” she says I only feel sorry for the couples who come to me for consultation These are the most traumatic moments in their lives and they have to hear that they are murderers.” Anti-abortion activists protest regularly in front of the Olesnica hospital a car carrying a banner with photos of mutilated fetuses drives by.Kasia Strek for TIMEBecause Poland’s ruling right-wing Law and Justice Party (PiS) supports the restrictions 15 parliamentary elections to produce change Attorney Jolanta ­Budzowska is representing families in criminal-negligence cases against doctors in relation to pregnant women who died and suffered harm in hospitals She has also filed a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights against the Polish government on behalf of some of the families but they have gone through a trauma and want to forget about it,” Budzowska says Committee Against Torture concluded that denying access to legal abortion in certain circumstances involves such intense physical and mental suffering as to constitute torture I helped another pregnant woman who was told by doctors to wait four days until the fetus died,” Budzowska says She paid for it with depression.” In an opinion for the Office for Patients' Rights Professor Krzysztof Preis of the Medical University of Gdansk wrote that “the action prolonging the patient's mental suffering was inhumane and cruel treatment To grasp the human consequences of Poland’s abortion restrictions TIME interviewed the families of pregnant women who arrived at hospital with second-trimester pregnancy complications and later died as well as one woman who terminated her pregnancy and another who delivered a boy with severe health complications (the child died days later) Krzysztof Sowinski sits on his couch in Dabrowa Gornicza where his late wife Marta rested in the days before she died Krzysztof has not moved anything from this couch or his display of ultrasound photos and other memorabilia.Kasia Strek from TIMEFor more than five years “I loved our baby from the first line on the pregnancy test,” Krzysztof told TIME in July 2023 Marta started having contractions so Krzysztof drove her to the hospital in the southern Polish city of Katowice but the fetus's heart was still beating so she hoped for the best shivering with cold: ‘Something is wrong with me Maybe it's some inflammation.’” She developed a 100°F fever an antihistamine with a sedative effect; paracetamol a medication used to reduce fever; and an antibiotic according to medical records obtained by Krzysztof and reviewed by TIME Marta started bleeding from her birth canal The fetus’s heart had stopped beating but the doctors moved her into the delivery room anyway and held her hand the whole time,” Krzysztof says and undermines the midwives’ decisions.”  Marta’s bloodwork from the hospital's laboratory time-stamped 3:51 a.m showed a procalcitonin (PCT) test reading of 14.4—when a reading above 2 indicates a very high risk of sepsis (The hospital told TIME in a statement that doctors only became aware of the PCT reading hours later; the hospital did not respond to inquiries as to why this delay occurred.) She delivered a stillborn boy at 5:19 a.m “I said goodbye to the boy two hours later We already knew that we would give him a funeral so Marta couldn’t hear me,” Krzysztof says Syringes that Marta Sowinska used during two attempts of in-vitro procedures Marta and Krzysztof spent their life savings on doctor’s visits and treatments in the hopes of having a baby.Kasia Strek for TIMEThe last photo Krzysztof took of Marta and their son Wiktor Kasia Strek for TIMEThe hospital wrote to TIME in a statement that "the patient wanted wholeheartedly to save the pregnancy and even after finding out that the fetus had no heartbeat she did not consent to the proposed medical action (inducing a miscarriage).” Krzysztof tells it differently: “She wanted a baby but didn't want to die for it If they had explained to us 12 hours earlier that Marta’s life was in danger and the pregnancy had to be terminated to save her neither of us would have given it a second thought Who am I to check the doctor's every step?”   Marta’s condition continued to deteriorate into the morning doctors raised the prospect of removing her uterus.  “Marta fell into a coma after the procedure and doctors told me to go home saying she could remain in this state for many days I received a call that Marta had died,” Krzysztof says (Medical records do not mention a coma.) “She was my only friend,” he adds she said I could do whatever I want with our three embryos Sometimes I think about surrogacy outside of Poland but then I realize the whole point of having children is to raise them together But maybe it is a way to make a part of her alive again?”  Janusz Kucharski holds his son Dawid in their home in Radoszowy They lost their partner and mother Justyna Szymura on Dec although I don't know any other father raising a child alone,” Janusz says Kasia Strek for TIMEBefore Justyna Szymura's death in December 2020 at age 34 He says he will not forgive the doctor who patted him on the back and told him that “nothing could be done” just after Justyna died.  the largest protests in the nation since the fall of the communist rule in 1989 filled the Polish streets Following the Constitutional Court ruling in October 2020 to further restrict abortion access more than 1,000 demonstrations were organized with over 1 million people participating.  Justyna was 18 weeks pregnant when she started bleeding from her birth canal and went to the hospital in Wodzislaw Slaski on Dec showed a high C-reactive protein (CRP) test according to an opinion issued by Professor Miroslaw Wielgos an expert witness for Poland’s Office for Patients' Rights Wieglos' opinion states that  she was given an antibiotic and apparently left alone for 12 hours.  Professor Wielgos wrote in his opinion that the antibiotic could not have worked because “two weeks earlier a culture from the genital tract showed the presence of a bacteria resistant to its action.” He also criticized the hospital’s decision to leave Justyna alone for 12 hours: "The consequence [of high leukocytosis and CRP] should be the monitoring of the effectiveness of the treatment by repeating the tests after a maximum of 4-6 hours.”  Janusz Kucharski shows a photo of Justyna and himself from the baptism of their son Dawid.Kasia Strek for TIMEThe next morning Justyna texted Janusz: “I fainted in the bathroom Doctors began inducing a miscarriage at 9:20 a.m on Dec "Perhaps it would have been undertaken several hours earlier if the inflammatory parameters had been properly monitored," wrote Professor Wielgos Laboratory test results soon showed a further increase in CRP and there was a sharp increase in PCT as well as more vomiting He wrote that doctors needed to " immediately intensify action and proceed with instrumental emptying of the uterine cavity," but instead they proceeded with the induction of the miscarriage Justyna gave birth to a stillborn boy at 1:30 p.m a decision was made to surgically remove the uterus to which Justyna gave her consent the hospital wrote that the cause of death was "multiple organ failure." In an email statement on Sept they said that the “patient was given due care by the medical staff adequate to her condition.” The hospital said in a subsequent statement that “the immediate cause of death was hemorrhagic shock with blood clotting abnormalities and associated multi-organ lesions the cause of death was not related to pregnancy “Our main allegation is that the inflammation was poorly treated which led to the development of sepsis and septic shock If Szymura had survived and the placental site tumor had been detected she would have undergone chemotherapy and had about an 85% chance of survival.” According to Poland’s Central Statistical Office not a single woman in the Silesian province died that year due to obstetric complications.  Izabela Sajbor’s mother Barbara Zientek sits in her home in Cwiklice Zientek was in a severe car accident in 2019 and must exercise daily for therapy Iza helped me in the hospital and then at home because I couldn't walk my life has lost its meaning.”Kasia Strek for TIMEIzabela Sajbor was 22 weeks pregnant when her water broke in the early morning of Sept and she went to the Joannitas hospital in Pszczyna Bloodwork earlier in the day had indicated elevated CRP levels according to medical records reviewed by TIME “Thanks to super PiS they’ll wait until it’s dead I can expect sepsis!” Izabela messaged her mother Barbara Zientek but was unable to visit her daughter in hospital because of pandemic-related restrictions Prenatal testing earlier in Izabela’s pregnancy indicated that the fetus might have Edwards syndrome—a congenital syndrome due to an extra copy of the 18th chromosome that is usually fatal; about 90% of babies with this condition do not survive the first year—though Skrobol says Izabela had shared this information only with her husband Izabela never had amniocentesis to confirm a diagnosis.  because someone could think they did it on purpose,” she texted her mother (TIME has reviewed the messages.)   Two doctors who treated Izabela still work as gynecologists at Joannitas Hospital in Pszczyna they and a third doctor were charged at the prosecutor's office of endangering life and health One of them was also charged with manslaughter Kasia Strek for TIMEAttorney Jolanta Budzowska speaks with Izabela Sajbor’s sister-in-law Barbara Skrobol with a photograph of Izabela seen in the background Budzowska is representing families in criminal-negligence cases related to the abortion law Kasia Strek for TIMEDoctors had administered fentanyl and Diazepam according to TIME’s review of the medical records “Izabela was crying for help,” Skrobol says Maja." Izabela died at 7:35 a.m the next morning less than 24 hours after she was admitted.  three doctors have been charged with endangering life and health and one of them has been charged with causing death The hospital in Pszczyna has not replied to multiple requests for comment A photo of Dorota in their bedroom in Marcin’s parent’s house where they were living while they built their house “I still keep Dorota’s and the baby’s things in the drawer was 20 weeks pregnant when her water broke on May 20 were visiting family in Nowy Targ at the time so he took her to the hospital named after Pope John Paul II in the southern Polish town Doctors performed an ultrasound that showed the fetus still had a heartbeat.  and bloodwork indicated her CRP was rising according to Budzowska’s review of the medical documentation declined to share the documentation with TIME citing an ongoing investigation.) On the 23rd “No one informed us that the chances of saving our baby were close to zero and sepsis was almost inevitable,” Marcin says “Usually women want to fight for their child The most important thing is to honestly explain to them what their situation is a gynecology consultant for the Ministry of Health for the Pomeranian region Professor Preis said he would decide whether to terminate a pregnancy as soon as the first signs of an infection appeared doctors in the region “hid behind the ‘conscience clause,” and declined to perform an abortion if it conflicted with their beliefs “to put a woman's life at risk contradicts the Bible." Dorota had been jotting down a few words daily with a pencil in her prayer book She spoke to her husband for the last time at 9 p.m As a devout Catholic Dorota opposed abortion but Marcin says it is hard to say what she would have chosen if given the option to terminate the pregnancy “But for sure it is better to save one life than to lose two,” he tells TIME doctors ordered a second ultrasound and found the fetus’ heart had stopped beating and after discussion with a regional consultant doctors decided to remove the fetus as well as Dorota’s uterus from sepsis despite 90 minutes of attempted resuscitation After Marcin and Dorota married in September 2022 they spent every weekend at the construction site of their new house “My therapist advised me to go back to building the house,” says Marcin Maybe one day.”Kasia Strek for TIMEIn June a patients’ rights ombudsman Bartlomiej Chmielowiec stated that "the investigation revealed a number of irregularities that occurred during the patient's stay in the hospital No additional measures were taken in view of the rising CRP; adequate antibiotic therapy was not implemented in time and the patient was not offered induction of miscarriage on May 22 (the day after admission to the hospital) in view of the rising CRP The supervision of the pregnant woman was not carried out in accordance with due diligence and in accordance with current medical knowledge." In August sent a letter expressing condolences and “deep regret for the death of Mrs Lalik and her unborn child" to Marcin Lalik "The management of the hospital in Nowy Targ apologizes for the violation of the rights of Mrs Dorota Lalik to health services corresponding to the requirements of current medical knowledge immediate provision of health services in case of danger to health and life health services provided with due diligence and to information about her health condition," Director Wierzba wrote "The death of a pregnant patient is a huge tragedy not only for the relatives of the deceased or the public but also for the management and staff of the Hospital," the hospital said in a statement to TIME "The patient was kept informed of her and the baby's condition Both the patient and the family received support from a psychologist neither in 2005 nor thereafter has there been any official declaration from the hospital that pregnancy terminations will not be performed at our facility We have not reached any document or record that confirms this The same goes for invoking the conscience clause We are committed to ensuring that a similar situation does not occur again." The hospital then outlined steps it had taken to ensure "a similar situation does not occur again," including someone to restructure the gynecology-obstetrics department and conducting training sessions "Out of respect for the family and relatives of the deceased as well as the applicable laws (confidentiality of medical records) the Hospital Director maintains his position and will not comment on the entire case until it is clarified by the relevant authorities." Joanna and Marek sit in a hospital room in Olesnica hospital on Aug 1 while waiting for the abortion procedure to begin “This whole situation is proof for us how strong our love is We would do anything for each other.”Kasia Strek for TIMEJoanna and Marek a birth defect in which there is an opening in the diaphragm that allows abdominal organs to move into the chest (TIME is using pseudonyms for Joanna and Marek because of privacy concerns.) They consulted a doctor who told them the child had about a 50-50 chance of surviving birth “The doctor was not sure if he would have legs and could be missing other organs,” Marek told TIME from Olesnica hospital in August The doctor told them he could operate to move the organs to the right place and sew up the diaphragm once the child was born but it would be expensive the couple was afraid to ask about terminating the pregnancy “I am chronically ill and I thought it was all my fault I was told by a doctor to stop crying and deal with it,” Joanna says “I was afraid that something would happen to me or the baby I ordered pills online to induce an abortion at home I was going out of my mind and I ended up in the ER with a panic attack.” It is then that Joanna and Marek decided to take action The Foundation for Women and Family Planning (FEDERA) a Polish nonprofit that fights for reproductive rights they traveled 250 miles from their home in northern Poland to the hospital in Olesnica Jagielska administered a fetal intracardiac potassium chloride injection to the fetus’s heart to terminate the pregnancy They decided not to see the baby afterward.  It would have died immediately or a few hours after birth,” Jagielska recalls.  came to Poland following the 2022 Russian invasion and gave birth to a boy with hydrocephalus “I don't know how I'd feel if I knew about the malformations from the beginning but I would like to have been given a choice,” Maria says Kasia Strek for TIMEWhile Joanna and Marek were waiting for the abortion in another room at Jagielska’s hospital in Olesnica a Ukrainian refugee who came to Poland following Russia’s full-scale invasion of her country (TIME is using a pseudonym for privacy concerns.)  Test results earlier in Maria’s pregnancy indicated the baby had hydrocephalus Jagielska says is likely because Maria had toxoplasmosis medical records from a previous physician did not mention any treatment “How can you not notice that there is water instead of a brain?” asks Jagielska “Unfortunately such things are on the rise A few days ago I had a patient with a fetus missing half of the heart These doctors just don't want to take responsibility for what happens next.” and nurses tried to save Maria's son.Kasia Strek for TIMEDr was taken to a specialized hospital in Wroclaw by the decision of a neonatology consultant in the Lower Silesia region “I don't know how I'd feel if I knew about the malformations from the beginning,” Maria told TIME in Olesnica hospital the day she gave birth on Aug “but I would like to have been given a choice.”—With reporting by Kasia Strek This article was published more than 1 year ago is among a handful of doctors in Poland willing to perform legal abortions and she is the only doctor who will do late-stage terminations She believes it is her duty as a doctor to provide the service.Anna Liminowicz/The Globe and Mail Anyone driving into the Polish town of Olesnica would have a hard time missing the gory message splashed across a billboard near a small church The sign features a giant image of a bloody mutilated fetus next to a photograph of the local hospital Gizela Jagielska on abortions in Olesnica hospital: Yes I do abortions,” reads the stark lettering across the top of the photos The billboard and another one across town that’s equally graphic have become part of Dr along with threatening e-mails and regular protests outside her office orchestrated by an anti-abortion group that equates her with Adolf Hitler who has been practising gynecology for 18 years and is also the hospital’s deputy director “But I think that it’s more uncomfortable for our patients They are lying here and listening to them screaming Poland has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe and Olesnica’s hospital is among the few medical centres in the country willing to perform the procedure It’s also the only one prepared to do late-stage terminations She’s tiny and has the exhausted countenance of a doctor who has delivered countless babies at all hours she sat in her small office clutching a blanket to ward off an early autumn chill A few books lined the window sill next to a large baby doll and several thank you cards from grateful patients were displayed on shelves and cabinets She took up gynecology after a visit to a maternity ward during her first year of medical school in nearby Wroclaw “I knew that there can be very happy moments but that I am also obliged to do abortions,” she recalled She and her team perform about a dozen abortions a month and they don’t think twice about doing everything possible to help women who want to end a pregnancy “I am a gynecologist not only for those women who want to be pregnant but also for those who do not want to be pregnant,” she said There are only two exemptions under Poland’s abortion ban but only within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy and with proof of a police investigation into the assault The second exemption applies to instances where the pregnancy poses a risk to the woman’s life or health Late-term abortions are usually done because other hospitals failed to properly test the fetus for abnormalities or because the test results took too long Olesnica’s hospital performed three or four late-term abortions a year; now Jagielska is no stranger to the abortion debate in Poland although she doesn’t share many of the religious qualms but her Jewish upbringing detached her from the teachings of the Catholic Church and the powerful influence it has on Polish society and politics The church’s role in daily life increased significantly after the end of communist rule in 1989 and abortion has largely been banned since 1993 Since the populist Law and Justice party (PiS) came to power in 2015 the government has become even more attuned to the edicts of Catholic bishops which critics say has been politicized by PiS struck down a legal provision that allowed abortions in cases involving fetal abnormalities and abortion became a key issue in the run-up to parliamentary elections on Oct A coalition of three opposition parties led by Donald Tusk won a comfortable majority and ended eight years of PiS rule Tusk has promised to legalize abortion under any circumstances in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy; after that the procedure would be permitted if the woman’s life or health were endangered or if the fetus was severely impaired Tusk’s coalition ran on the issue of abortion and are determined to ensure his promise is fulfilled The election win “is going to mean a lot if we are going to be able to stop this violation of women’s rights in Poland,” said Aleksandra Wiśniewska a 29-year-old humanitarian aid worker who ran as a first-time candidate for KO and scored an upset victory in Lodz has been far less committed to easing the restrictions and prefers holding a referendum on the issue The party won the most votes in the election and holds 194 seats in the 460-seat legislature can veto legislation and has two years left in his term The opposition coalition can’t counter a veto because it didn’t win enough seats to overrule the President The Catholic Church also remains a potent force and can rely on a number of like-minded organizations to fight any easing of the restrictions it’s the murder of children,” said Rafal Buca a nationalist organization with strong ties to the church Buca believes abortion should only be allowed if a woman’s life is at risk – and he rules it out in cases of sexual assault “It’s not the fault of the children,” he said Jagielska and many others cautiously optimistic She considered leaving the country if PiS had been returned to power but now hopes for the best from Mr “We will see what the first 100 days of new government shows us,” she said She would like to see Poland move toward a Canadian model where there are no legal restrictions and abortion is considered a medical service “I don’t know why abortion is such a big issue,” she said “Because I think that everybody should have a right to choose – women also because this is their bodies Report an editorial error Report a technical issue Editorial code of conduct Authors and topics you follow will be added to your personal news feed in Following Paul Waldie is The Globe and Mail’s Europe Correspondent Paul has been a reporter and editor for 30 years, taking on everything from the Bre-X gold fraud to the conviction of Conrad Black, the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Britain's departure from the European Union and the war in Ukraine numerous Wimbledon championships and spent a season with the Winnipeg Jets when the team made its triumphant return to the city in 2011 As editor of The Globe’s Report on Business section Paul managed the largest financial newsroom in Canada and was responsible for expanding the paper’s business and investment coverage in print and online In 2016, he moved to the UK to cover Britain and Europe. Since February 2022, he has been part of the team of Globe reporters covering Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He has been to Ukraine several times since the start of the war and his work on the refugee crisis has won accolades in Canada Paul has been a regular presence on television and radio He was a part-time host on Canada’s Business News Network for years and he's a regular contributor to radio outlets in Canada and the UK He’s won four National Newspaper Awards and been nominated for several other honours He also wrote a best-selling book on the McCain family called A House Divided Paul has also worked at the Vancouver Province the Financial Post and the National Post where he was national editor Welcome to The Globe and Mail’s comment community. This is a space where subscribers can engage with each other and Globe staff. Non-subscribers can read and sort comments but will not be able to engage with them in any way. Click here to subscribe If you would like to write a letter to the editor, please forward it to letters@globeandmail.com. Readers can also interact with The Globe on Facebook and Twitter Welcome to The Globe and Mail’s comment community This is a space where subscribers can engage with each other and Globe staff We aim to create a safe and valuable space for discussion and debate If you do not see your comment posted immediately it is being reviewed by the moderation team and may appear shortly We aim to have all comments reviewed in a timely manner Comments that violate our community guidelines will not be posted UPDATED: Read our community guidelines here We have closed comments on this story for legal reasons or for abuse. For more information on our commenting policies and how our community-based moderation works, please read our Community Guidelines and our Terms and Conditions The first edition of the IKF Korfball Champions League is ready to start with two first rounds to be played from 23 to 25 September 2022 in Portugal and Poland.    The IKF KCL Round 1-A will take place in Lisbon capital and the IKF KCL Round 1-B will be held in the Polish city of Oleśnica This new format will allow for more matches between clubs of similar strength doing justice to the growing club competitions in Europe For 7th place: Marmara USC – FJEP Bonson [19-11]For 5th place: Norwich Knights – CCCD Carnaxide [9-11]For 3rd place: CC Oeiras – Platja d’Aro KC [16-14]For 1st place: TuS Schildgen – KC Barcelona [0-0] For 7th place: Kékvölgy SE – SKK Dolphins [9-7]For 5th place: Yıldız Teknik USC – Glasgow KC [13-7]For 3rd place: SJBAGB – AZS Balluff [10-11]For 1st place: Tornadoes KC – KK Brno [16-6] qualify to play the IKF Champions League Round 2 next 18-20 November 2022 in Prostějov More information about this new competition format for European korfball clubs can be found here All fans around the world will be able to follow this tournament live on youtube.com/ikfchannel and on www.worldkorfball.sport (with live results and streams On social media you will be able to find the best images visiting the following official @IKFeurope and @IKFKCL profiles as well as the regular and well-known IKF profiles (see below) and via the hashtags #KCL and #korfball: ► facebook.com/korfball.org ► twitter.com/korfball ► instagram.com/korfball_org ► tiktok.com/@korfball.sport ► facebook.com/IKFeurope► twitter.com/IKFeurope► instagram.com/IKFeurope ► facebook.com/IKFKCL► twitter.com/IKFKCL► instagram.com/IKFKCL An investigation is underway in Poland after a doctor committed an induced abortion — the direct and intentional killing of a preborn child — at 37 weeks of pregnancy Poland protects the majority of preborn children from abortion with exceptions when a mother’s life or health is at risk or a child was conceived in rape or incest Poland removed a previous exception that had allowed abortion for children with a prenatal diagnosis that outlet did not state this reasoning for the abortion instead claiming that the mother’s life was “severely endangered” by the pregnancy Last week, Polish presidential candidate Grzegorz Braun threatened the abortionist — Dr Gizela Jagielska — with a citizen’s arrest for carrying out the abortion rather than delivering the child alive According to Notes from Poland, Anita told Gazeta Wyborcza that she sought the abortion after doctors told her that her baby boy After months of debate regarding his official diagnosis and the severity of his condition Anita felt she could not trust the doctors who all gave her different opinions on her son’s health Anita and her partner Maciej learned their preborn son had “shortening and bending of the femurs.” Doctors told them not to worry and ordered an amniocentesis This was the second little boy for the couple which likewise revealed “shortened and bent femurs.” Shortly after Anita received a call telling her to “… ‘come immediately for urgent tests The child has osteogenesis imperfecta.’ I cried so much that I couldn’t drive When they arrived at the hospital, the doctor, Prof. Moczulska, confirmed the diagnosis and told them it was the “mildest form” and was “not tragic.” Gazeta Wyborcza reported Anita as saying: and was told that there was a chance of oligohydramnios — too little amniotic fluid she received a call stating that she needed to stay at the hospital to be monitored Anita learned she did “not have advanced oligohydramnios” and her baby was “developing well… not very small at all,” and that a defect was “clearly visible,” but “everything is fine.” she received a call from Łódź that there was now room for her but told them the other hospital had found the oligohydramnios was not advanced doctors said she had to stay at Łódź Hospital until her baby was delivered president of the Polish Society of Gynecologists and Obstetricians and head of the Department of Fetal Medicine and Gynecology at the Medical University of Łódź These comments were a turning point for Anita that I realized that this is not some minor defect My Felek is seriously ill,” she said A bone disease specialist then told Anita it was unclear if her son would survive READ: Mom raises awareness about brittle bone disease with beautiful photos of son who allegedly said something surprising for such a young child “He buried his head in his hands and cried that ‘when Mommy comes back from the hospital she’ll take care of my sick brother and forget about me’.” I admitted to myself that I couldn’t handle all of this,” she said Anita’s sister Karolina began calling pro-abortion organizations which told them that Anita could have an abortion “We can spare Felek pain by not giving him birth.” But Anita also worried about becoming the mother of a child who might not live independently and wondered who would take care of him after she and Maciej were gone She didn’t know if she could be someone who “doesn’t work and only reaches out for money from the state.” That’s when she told the doctors she was considering abortion and asked to speak to a psychologist Doctors brought Anita to the emergency room at the psychiatric hospital where she said she was kept against her will because she was a danger to herself Sieroszewski said her mental health was “deteriorating,” and that she had a “high risk of auto- and allo-aggressive behavior.” a non-governmental organization that advocates for abortion Doctors and psychologists from the Diagnostic and Observation Department wrote that “there are grounds to terminate the pregnancy.” They claimed that Felek’s condition created an indirect threat to Anita’s physical health They allegedly argued that Anita’s membranes could rupture causing Felek to die and potentially leading to sepsis The Family Planning Act of 1993 does not say that the threat to the mother must be an immediate emergency to allow for an abortion — a deadly loophole “A doctor has an obligation to save the life or health of a woman even at the cost of the fetus’s life,” claimed Urban-Kowalczyk She said that Felek would be killed with a lethal injection of potassium chloride which he referred to as ‘inappropriate for civilized people’ and in violation of Polish law we are also obliged to save the life and health of the fetus.” This meant that doctors could deliver Felek alive and provide him with medical care preventing any potential threat to Anita’s life despite the presence of a defect in the form of congenital osteogenesis imperfecta in the fetus is in good condition and is potentially capable of extrauterine life,” wrote Sieroszewski The official response to Anita’s application for an abortion stated “There are not grounds for terminating the pregnancy by inducing fetal asphyxia.” Anita left the hospital and went the next day to a hospital in Oleśnica that commits abortions the couple reconsidered and nearly went home but ultimately decided to kill their son to spare him any potential suffering that hospital also told them to await genetic tests to determine the severity of Felek’s condition before aborting him Another ultrasound showed no new fractures they couldn’t say much about the defect because ‘the symptoms appeared discreetly.’ They never noticed anything that would worry them I hear that ‘more will be known when the baby is born.'” Felek’s condition was officially diagnosed as a new mutation of OI rather than inherited mutations from his parents Because it was a ‘de novo’ mutation doctors could not predict the severity of Felek’s condition or if he was at risk of dying shortly after birth But Anita did not want to allow a child with this disability to be born She hurriedly prepped Anita for an abortion and injected Felek in the heart with the feticide that caused him to go into cardiac arrest which she called “the worst six hours of my life.” Anita wants everyone to know how difficult doctors made it for her to have an abortion and that she was being heroic by not allowing her son to live with a disability It can be difficult for able-bodied individuals to imagine life with a physical disability, but nine-year-old Theo is living with OI When he was a newborn, Theo’s parents learned he had ‘de novo’ OI, just like Felek. Although it is impossible to compare the outcomes for the two boys, Theo is living a good life. He has Type III OI, the most severe among children who survive after birth and participates in wheelchair track and adaptive bowling “… I think that none of us has the right to judge why they did it […] You will never know what you would do in their situation unless you find yourself in such a situation.”  Jagielska claimed Anita’s health was at risk, but Anita doesn’t appear to have said this during her interview with Gazeta Wyborcza She claimed she didn’t want her family to suffer or struggle While Anita was overcome with emotions and fears Jagielska was of a clear mind when she committed the abortion on Felek instead of connecting Anita to supportive organizations for children with OI that could have helped the family Every woman in that situation deserves true support — not the reinforcement of her worst fears Live Action News publishes pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective.  Learn More With so many of Planned Parenthood’s legitimate health care services plummeting over the past.. ProPublica has ramped up its biased attack on pro-life states in no less than.. Live Action founder and president Lila Rose penned an email in.. Live Action News is pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective. Learn More Contact editor@liveaction.org for questions or if you are seeking permission to reprint any Live Action News content would you sign the petition to help end taxpayer funding of the nation’s largest abortion provider Planned Parenthood performs almost 900 abortions a day Reborn dolls are displayed at a doll show in Brentwood Photographs by Karolina Jonderko Story by Kyle Almond The first time Karolina Jonderko held a reborn doll can cost hundreds and sometimes even thousands of dollars and their realistic features can include veins Some even have systems that mimic breathing and a beating heart Most of the people who own these dolls are collectors the dolls appear to provide a therapeutic benefit She started her photo project “Reborn” to focus on this powerful emotional response “Although she had four other children and of course loves them she had this emptiness inside,” Jonderko recalled “She said she was supposed to leave the hospital with a baby in her hands And that's how her doll became a part of the family.” Jonderko’s photos of the family show them taking the doll with them everywhere Barbara Smolinska originally bought a reborn doll to be a birthday present for her daughter “I felt so peaceful and relaxed each time when I was holding her,” Smolinska said She said the doll has helped her in dealing with stress and overcoming an eating disorder I just hold my doll or change her clothes and take pictures of her and all my problems and bad feelings go away,” Smolinska said and she even has a reborn “nursery” where she repairs other people’s dolls “I can see how big of a help they are for my clients who lost their children or cannot have kids or are suffering from depression,” she said “My clients are always going back to me and saying how much these dolls are helping them.” Smolinska modeled a doll on him based on a photo I no longer think about suicide,” Ewa told Jonderko last year Ewa and her partner are now adopting a real baby “The doll helped her ‘be a fake mother' for a bit Not everyone is enamored with reborn dolls “There are some people who hate them or don't like them or find them disturbing,” Jonderko said. It’s the “uncanny valley” concept that we often see with robots: As an artificial being becomes more like a human Smolinska has also seen the dolls make people uncomfortable but she and Jonderko said the majority of their experiences have been positive “Most of the people are really fascinated,” Jonderko said This is horrible.’ But they are fascinated with how precise they look That realism can occasionally come with some downsides “Once we had a situation on a bus when a doll fell out of a girl’s hands,” Jonderko said “The whole bus started screaming and the driver stopped the bus We had to explain that it's just a doll and walk around the bus to show that it's just a doll.” Jonderko has also heard of some incidents where a doll was left in a car seat and the police or someone else broke the glass because they thought it was a real baby in distress because (the doll) just looks like a sleeping baby,” she said I'm wondering if it's real or fake,” she said with a laugh “Especially when I went to a reborn fair in England and there was a real baby sleeping Most of the people at the fair thought it was a doll because it slept so quietly “I did some experiments with my friends because (Smolinska) gave me one of her dolls,” she said But when we started talking about whatever they started to pat the doll on the back or put it on their legs and start shaking to calm ‘the baby’ down ‘Look at what you’re doing now!’ It's amazing that we humans do these things subconsciously.” Jonderko hopes her photos can take away some of the stigma that may come with the dolls and the people who own them She has seen firsthand how they have helped women such as Magda She and her husband were having trouble conceiving Two months after Jonderko photographed her “We laughed because she had the crib and the whole room for the doll for a baby girl,” Jonderko said Top prospect admits marijuana useThe Associated PressOMAHA — Defensive end Randy Gregory said he tested positive for marijuana at the NFL scouting combine last month and that he failed two drug tests at Nebraska last year Gregory disclosed his marijuana use in an interview with NFL Media on Wednesday Gregory went into February's scouting combine projected to be among the top 10 picks in the draft He declared for the draft after his junior season at Nebraska where he recorded 17 1/2 sacks in two seasons He said he tested positive for marijuana at Nebraska in January 2014 and April 2014 Gregory said he hadn't smoked marijuana since December but there's really no one else I can blame." Gregory missed two games because of injury last year but was not suspended for any after testing positive twice at Nebraska The school's drug policy was revised last October and now requires an athlete to be suspended for 10 percent of his team's contests after a second positive test "I was worse at Nebraska than I've ever been at any other time of my life," Gregory said of his marijuana use I think if teams really look at how I am now more so than the past they'll see I'm making strides to get better — The San Francisco 49ers have waived offensive lineman Jonathan Martin ending Martin's one-year trial run with the team The Niners acquired Martin last March in a deal with Miami Martin had left the Dolphins in October 2013 after accusing teammate Richie Incognito of bullying An NFL investigation determined Incognito and two other Dolphins offensive linemen engaged in persistent harassment of Martin Martin started seven games at right tackle last season in place of injured Anthony Davis He struggled in that role and allowed 7 1/2 sacks Martin was picked in the second round out of Stanford in 2012 — The Minnesota Vikings have signed Polish tackle Babatunde "Babs" Aiyegbusi whose name is pronounced bah-BUH'-toon-day ah-YEG'-boo-see 351-pounder played for the Dresden Monarchs of the German Football League in 2014 helping the club to an appearance in the semifinals Aiyegbusi helped the Wroclaw Giants to the Polish American Football League Championship The 27-year-old tackle becomes the fifth Polish-born player in NFL history — The Minnesota Vikings have signed Polish tackle Babatunde “Babs” Aiyegbusi.Aiyegbusi whose name is pronounced bah-BUH’-toon-day ah-YEG’-boo-see helping the club to an appearance in the semifinals.In 2013 Aiyegbusi helped the Wroclaw Giants to the Polish American Football League Championship.The 27-year-old tackle becomes the fifth Polish-born player in NFL history “These are acts of terror against patients, doctors, and hospital administrators,” Kotula said in an interview with journalist Arleta Zalewska on the TVN24 news channel, referring to Braun’s forced entry into the hospital and his attempts to prevent a gynecologist from performing her duties Braun, who is running in this year’s presidential election, entered the hospital on Wednesday accompanied by a group of around 30 people who had performed a medically justified late-term abortion claiming he was carrying out a “citizen’s arrest.” Police and a crisis negotiation unit were called to the scene “Let’s call it what it is - this is terrorism,” Kotula said adding that such extremism and disruption of hospital operations are absolutely unacceptable and urgent action is needed to stop such behavior “There can be no tolerance for breaking the law,” she added who also condemned Braun’s actions and confirmed that Polish prosecutors had launched an investigation into his reported intimidation of doctors Nie ma zgody na łamanie prawa i zastraszanie lekarzy, personelu medycznego i pacjentek. ? https://t.co/k8g0qX0s9M Kotula emphasized that the abortion performed by Dr Jagielska was fully legal and medically justified The minister said the doctor deserved gratitude for her professional service and accused Braun of deliberately distorting the facts for ideological and political purposes the MEP is exploiting the case to fuel his campaign ahead of the presidential election scheduled for May Source: TVN24/YouTube.com/@TVN24/X/@KotulaKat/@Adbodnar Gregory disclosed his marijuana use in an interview with NFL Media on Wednesday. Gregory went into February's scouting combine projected to be among the top 10 picks in the draft. He declared for the draft after his junior season at Nebraska, where he recorded 171/2 sacks in two seasons. He said he tested positive for marijuana at Nebraska in January 2014 and April 2014. Gregory said he hadn't smoked marijuana since December. "I blame myself," Gregory told NFL Media. "And I know it sounds cliche, but there's really no one else I can blame." Eddie Rhodman Jr., one of Gregory's handlers, said Thursday that Gregory would not comment further. Gregory said he knows the failed drug tests could hurt his draft position. "Am I worried? Yeah, I'm worried," he said. "At the same time, I'm confident. I know I'm going to be all right in the end." 49ers: Offensive lineman Jonathan Martin was waived. The Niners acquired Martin last March in a deal with Miami. Martin had left the Dolphins in October 2013 after accusing teammate Richie Incognito of bullying. An NFL investigation determined Incognito and two other Dolphins offensive linemen engaged in persistent harassment of Martin. As many as 400 people can find jobs at GKN Driveline a new automotive factory which is now coming up in Oleśnica This British company is a global leader in driveline systems manufacturing and acts as a supplier to such automotive giants as Volkswagen GKN Driveline already has one manufacturing site in Oleśnica which produces driveline systems for passenger vehicles and delivery vans The project is going to expand the company's production capacity to deliver brand new products on the market The company is planning to take on another 400 people over the next four years "The site is 15 thousand sqm in size and is located 2 km away from our current location," says Oleśnica's GKN Driveline Director Grzegorz Wiśniewski "Our target is to turn out a million propellers and modern drive line units GKN is now running 56 production sites in 22 countries which employ around 22 thousand people The company has been present in Poland since 1996 They have expanded their size and production capacity four times already The company has been operating since 2012 in the INVEST-PARK Wałbrzych Special Economic Zone The lowest remuneration at GKN Driveline is now 2700 PLN gross Poniatowice is a quiet village in Lower Silesia In Poniatowice, a small Shih Tzu dog was found confined to a kennel on farmland dirty fur had grown so thick around its face that it could barely see Rescued by police and the Przytul Pyska organisation the 6-7-year-old Shih Tzu now has hope for a better future In a second case, Oleśnica police responded to a distress call in Twardogóra, a town of 6,000 people, where they found a severely emaciated, 6-year-old Labrador-type dog locked in a boarded-up kennel The owner admitted to feeding the dog only bread and water Both owners will face charges of animal cruelty with a potential sentence of up to three years in prison both dogs have been rescued and will receive the care they need through the Przytul Pyska organisation https://policja.pl/pol/aktualnosci/258703,Olesniccy-policjanci-odebrali-dwa-psy-nieodpowiedzialnym-wlascicielom.html You can change your choice by clicking on “Accept cookies” at the bottom of the page.