«I feel in danger as a woman» Impacts of a Strict Abortion Law on Young Polish Women; an Integral Approach

Abstract

Since 2020, the Polish abortion law allows abortions only in cases when the pregnancy is a result of an unlawful act or when the pregnancy pose a threat to the life of the pregnant women. This qualitative thesis explores, with the help of Ken Wilber’s integral theory, how the amended Polish abortion law affects the everyday life and well-being of young Polish women as well as the strategies the women have taken in response to the new abortion law. This study found that the amended Polish abortion law provoked anger, fear and frustration among the participating women. The anger and frustration were found to be connected to, but are not limited to, what the women perceived as a too close relationship between the state and the Catholic Church and the influence of the Church on state policies. There was a fear of getting pregnant among the participants, which was linked to the lack of access to and trust in the Polish reproductive medical care services. The participant’s accounts also revealed strategies, such as saving money for traveling abroad or participating in demonstrations, as ways to cope with the 2020 change of the abortion law. The participating women show a severe distrust in the Polish government, frustration towards the close Church-state relationship and fear based on the lack of access to abortion and reproductive medical support, all which negatively affect their everyday lives and well-being.