Abortion on trial: Poland and the politicisation of human rights

Media Storm

Access the episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/4vphsyps

Warning: This episode contains mentions of suicide

Justyna Wydrzyñska is appealing a criminal conviction in Poland for sending abortion pills to a desperate woman in an abusive relationship. She joins us in an exclusive interview about feminist solidarity, hope in hard times, and the empty promises of political campaigns.

As almost every country in the world moves to steadily liberalise abortion access and women’s reproductive rights, four male presidents have done the opposite, making radical antidemocratic maneuvers to clamp down on women’s bodily autonomy.

Among them, the USA, where the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade and deprived a generation of women of a constitutional right they had always known.

And Poland, where the Law and Justice Party has infiltrated the courts and virtually eradicated legal access to abortion. But October’s historic election overturned their majority, as women and young people flocked to the polls in record numbers. Abortion was centre stage in the campaigns and one woman’s case was at the heart of it all.

As well as Justyna, we hear from Amnesty International UK’s lead for Women’s Human Rights, Chiara Capraro, and US abortion rights activist Renee Bracey Sherman, about worldwide trends and mainstream media misinformation.

This episode is brought to you as part of Amnesty International’s Write for Rights campaign – get involved: https://tinyurl.com/3usebvje

The episode was created by Mathilda Mallinson (@mathildamall) and Helena Wadia (@helenawadia). The music is by Samfire (@soundofsamfire).

Subscribe to our Patreon for access to FOI data, extended video interviews and more: https://www.patreon.com/MediaStormPodcast

Sources

• Impact of Poland’s 2020 abortion restriction: https://tinyurl.com/2whhc5tf
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights: https://tinyurl.com/yeykpstx

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