I am writing in response to Anna Gromada’s article (Poland’s birth rate is in freefall. The cause? A loneliness epidemic that state cash can’t solve, 23 October), as a Polish woman, I was astonished that the article makes no mention of Poland’s abortion laws as a major factor in the birth rate. This was particularly surprising as it was published just one day after the fifth anniversary of further restrictions being introduced by the constitutional tribunal, staffed by judges loyal to the Law and Justice party (PiS).
The Guardian itself has reported on the consequences of this decision, and the countrywide protests that followed, numerous times (for example, in 2021 and 2023). All Polish women know about Izabela, who died from sepsis in 2021 when she was 22 weeks pregnant. Women are scared that if they fall pregnant and experience complications, they will not receive adequate care. Unfortunately, the current government has done close to nothing to assuage their fears, despite being elected on the promise of liberalising the laws.
Marta Zboralska
London
