Dear Women,

Poland’s Minister of Health, Ewa Kopacz, has just announced the government’s plan to establish a database of all pregnancies in Poland in an effort to eliminate illegal abortions. If this idea becomes law, every pregnant woman will be registered by her physician. Her pregnancy will remain under state surveillance, so that she cannot terminate it.

We consider this a shocking violation of women’s human rights, the right to privacy, as well as a blatant breach of patient-doctor confidentiality.

We encourage you to join Polish women in responding to the Minister with letters and used tampons/ sanitary napkins (a tampon soiled with
red ink or juice will do just fine) proving that you are NOT pregnant.

Here is the address and a sample letter you may enclose with the evidence:
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
Minister Ewa Kopacz
ul. Miodowa 15
00-952 Warszawa
Poland

Dear Minister Kopacz,
I know that you are planning to build a database of pregnancies in Poland. I am not a Polish citizen, but I too would like to be registered in your system.I thought you may be interested to know that I am not pregnant, and therefore unlikely to have an abortion. I send you my towel/ tampon as proof. I will be glad to keep you up to date on the state of my reproductive system.
yours sincerely,
(name, address)

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
If you decide to support Polish women in this effort to respond to our government’s curiosity, please contact the Feminoteka Foundation, the
inventors of the action, send e-mail to: [email protected], ou can also see the Feminoteka website (English):
http://www.feminoteka.pl/viewpage.php?page_id=10

What amazed me is that in Poland, there is way easier access to illegal abortions than there is access to legal abortions in South Africa!

Which to me, shows the determination of women in Poland, who remember when it was perfectly legal to have abortions, and who are not bending to the church or their religious right political leaders. It's inspiring.