Warsaw 'Abortomat' locker dispenses abortion pills opposite Polish parliament
Women's rights activists in Poland have opened a parcel locker that dispenses abortion pills in one of Europe's most restrictive countries on the issue. Two bills passed by the Sejm may be blocked by a presidential veto.
Women's rights activists in Warsaw have opened a device called the "Abortomat", a parcel locker from which women can collect abortion pills. Activists say it is the first of its kind in the world. It stands in a building opposite the Polish parliament, which they describe as a message to politicians, including Prime Minister Donald Tusk. In Poland, abortion is permitted only when a pregnancy results from a crime such as rape or incest, or when it threatens the woman's life or health. Within the European Union, only Malta has comparable rules.
How the Abortomat works
The Abortomat has operated since late September and has 22 pink compartments. A woman receives a PIN code from the group Women Help Women after completing a medical questionnaire that a doctor reviews. Each compartment holds a package of mifepristone and misoprostol, drugs usually taken up to the 14th week of pregnancy. Mifepristone is not registered in Poland, so it must be ordered from abroad. The machine is housed in Abotak, Poland's first abortion centre, supported by the nonprofit Abortion Dream Team.
Activist Natalia Broniarczyk says the organisation helps about 130 women a day: roughly 125 use pills costing about €75, while the rest travel to clinics abroad. Polish hospitals performed just 851 abortions last year.
Legal questions
Women who have abortions in Poland are not criminalised, but anyone who helps them risks up to three years in prison. In 2023, activist Justyna Wydrzynska became the first person convicted of helping a woman by sending pills; the verdict was later overturned and a retrial ordered. She believes the Abortomat does not break the law because a machine, not a person, delivers the pills, though she admits she is unsure. Her lawyer, Dr Sabrina Mana-Walasek, calls the legal situation "complicated" and says a woman who orders and pays for pills herself commits no crime. The ultra-Catholic legal group Ordo Iuris has told prosecutors the activists are committing an offence.
Political background
Before the 2023 election, Tusk promised abortion on demand up to the 12th week, but his coalition has been unable to agree a common position. In October the Sejm, the lower house of parliament, narrowly approved two bills: one restoring severe irreversible fetal defects as grounds for a legal abortion, the other partially decriminalising help given to a woman. Activists expect President Karol Nawrocki to veto them.
