Polish woman wins lawsuit over Netherlands abortion; Poland to pay €16,500 in damages

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that Poland must compensate a woman who went to the Netherlands for an abortion. She had been uncertain whether obtaining a legal abortion was possible in Poland. She was awarded nearly 16,500 euros in damages.

In November 2020, the woman underwent an abortion after the fetus was diagnosed with Down syndrome. While a 1993 Polish law permitted terminations in such cases, the country’s Constitutional Court declared the law unconstitutional in October 2020. The decision, which triggered widespread protests, was not officially published until late January 2021.

The Strasbourg court found that the woman experienced a “situation of prolonged uncertainty,” which constituted interference with her private and family life, a right protected under the European Convention on Human Rights.

The decision is the second instance in which the European Court of Human Rights has ruled against Poland over its highly restrictive abortion legislation. The first involved a woman who was denied effective access to a lawful abortion on medical grounds.

Since the ECHR agreed with the claim that the legal uncertainty interfered with her rights, this ruling could pave the way for compensation for over 1,000 other Polish women who have filed similar applications.