Latest news with #ConstitutionalTribunal
5 days ago
- Health
3 Polish doctors convicted in 2021 death of pregnant woman
WARSAW, Poland -- Three Polish doctors were convicted for their roles in the 2021 death of a 30-year-old pregnant woman that sparked massive protests, Polish news agency PAP reported. The death from sepsis of the woman known as Iza at a hospital in southern Poland in her 22nd week of pregnancy led to huge street protests against the country's restrictive anti-abortion law. Activists blamed her death on doctors' choice to 'wait and see' rather than immediately carry out an abortion because of the Poland's near-ban on the procedure. Two of the doctors were sentenced to more than a year in prison without parole and the third received a two-year suspended sentence, PAP reported Thursday. They can appeal the decision. The charges, filed in 2022, were of exposing the patient to the danger of loss of life. Two of the doctors also were charged with unintentionally causing the patient's death. 'As a result of the team's activity and the failure to act, the patient has died,' Agnieszka Wichary, spokesperson for the prosecutors' office in Katowice, said in a statement at the time. Poland, a mostly Catholic country, passed a strict law in 1993 that banned abortions except when the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest, when the woman's life or health is at risk, or when the fetus had congenital deformities. But the Constitutional Tribunal, under the influence of Poland's conservative ruling party, ruled in 2020 that abortions for congenital defects were not constitutional, even if the fetus has no chance of survival. That sparked huge street protests. Activists said Iza was the first to die from the further tightening of the restrictive law. The woman left behind a husband and a daughter.
CTV News
5 days ago
- Health
- CTV News
3 Polish doctors convicted in 2021 death of pregnant woman
WARSAW, Poland — Three Polish doctors were convicted for their roles in the 2021 death of a 30-year-old pregnant woman that sparked massive protests, Polish news agency PAP reported. The death from sepsis of the woman known as Iza at a hospital in southern Poland in her 22nd week of pregnancy led to huge street protests against the country's restrictive anti-abortion law. Activists blamed her death on doctors' choice to 'wait and see' rather than immediately carry out an abortion because of the Poland's near-ban on the procedure. Two of the doctors were sentenced to more than a year in prison without parole and the third received a two-year suspended sentence, PAP reported Thursday. They can appeal the decision. The charges, filed in 2022, were of exposing the patient to the danger of loss of life. Two of the doctors also were charged with unintentionally causing the patient's death. 'As a result of the team's activity and the failure to act, the patient has died,' Agnieszka Wichary, spokesperson for the prosecutors' office in Katowice, said in a statement at the time. Poland, a mostly Catholic country, passed a strict law in 1993 that banned abortions except when the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest, when the woman's life or health is at risk, or when the fetus had congenital deformities. But the Constitutional Tribunal, under the influence of Poland's conservative ruling party, ruled in 2020 that abortions for congenital defects were not constitutional, even if the fetus has no chance of survival. That sparked huge street protests. Activists said Iza was the first to die from the further tightening of the restrictive law. The woman left behind a husband and a daughter. In practice, activists say, many women have abortions on their own with pills obtained from abroad. The Associated Press
Winnipeg Free Press
5 days ago
- Health
- Winnipeg Free Press
3 Polish doctors convicted in 2021 death of pregnant woman
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Three Polish doctors were convicted for their roles in the 2021 death of a 30-year-old pregnant woman that sparked massive protests, Polish news agency PAP reported. The death from sepsis of the woman known as Iza at a hospital in southern Poland in her 22nd week of pregnancy led to huge street protests against the country's restrictive anti-abortion law. Activists blamed her death on doctors' choice to 'wait and see' rather than immediately carry out an abortion because of the Poland's near-ban on the procedure. Two of the doctors were sentenced to more than a year in prison without parole and the third received a two-year suspended sentence, PAP reported Thursday. They can appeal the decision. The charges, filed in 2022, were of exposing the patient to the danger of loss of life. Two of the doctors also were charged with unintentionally causing the patient's death. 'As a result of the team's activity and the failure to act, the patient has died,' Agnieszka Wichary, spokesperson for the prosecutors' office in Katowice, said in a statement at the time. Poland, a mostly Catholic country, passed a strict law in 1993 that banned abortions except when the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest, when the woman's life or health is at risk, or when the fetus had congenital deformities. But the Constitutional Tribunal, under the influence of Poland's conservative ruling party, ruled in 2020 that abortions for congenital defects were not constitutional, even if the fetus has no chance of survival. That sparked huge street protests. Activists said Iza was the first to die from the further tightening of the restrictive law. The woman left behind a husband and a daughter. In practice, activists say, many women have abortions on their own with pills obtained from abroad.
Associated Press
5 days ago
- Health
- Associated Press
3 Polish doctors convicted in 2021 death of pregnant woman
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Three Polish doctors were convicted for their roles in the 2021 death of a 30-year-old pregnant woman that sparked massive protests, Polish news agency PAP reported. The death from sepsis of the woman known as Iza at a hospital in southern Poland in her 22nd week of pregnancy led to huge street protests against the country's restrictive anti-abortion law. Activists blamed her death on doctors' choice to 'wait and see' rather than immediately carry out an abortion because of the Poland's near-ban on the procedure. Two of the doctors were sentenced to more than a year in prison without parole and the third received a two-year suspended sentence, PAP reported Thursday. They can appeal the decision. The charges, filed in 2022, were of exposing the patient to the danger of loss of life. Two of the doctors also were charged with unintentionally causing the patient's death. 'As a result of the team's activity and the failure to act, the patient has died,' Agnieszka Wichary, spokesperson for the prosecutors' office in Katowice, said in a statement at the time. Poland, a mostly Catholic country, passed a strict law in 1993 that banned abortions except when the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest, when the woman's life or health is at risk, or when the fetus had congenital deformities. But the Constitutional Tribunal, under the influence of Poland's conservative ruling party, ruled in 2020 that abortions for congenital defects were not constitutional, even if the fetus has no chance of survival. That sparked huge street protests. Activists said Iza was the first to die from the further tightening of the restrictive law. The woman left behind a husband and a daughter. In practice, activists say, many women have abortions on their own with pills obtained from abroad.
Russia Today
06-02-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Polish PM faces coup d'état charges
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has been charged with attempting a coup d'état, the president of the country's Constitutional Tribunal announced on Wednesday. In a televised statement, Bogdan Swieczkowski alleged that Tusk's administration has been acting illegally to dismantle Poland's judicial system, which he claimed constitutes an attempt to overthrow the constitutional order. Swieczkowski, a former national prosecutor and close ally of the previous Law and Justice (PiS) government, was appointed by President Andrzej Duda in December 2024. Tusk's government, which came to power in 2023, has dismissed the current Constitutional Tribunal as illegitimate, arguing that PiS unlawfully installed judges in defiance of Polish and EU court rulings. In his announcement, Swieczkowski stated that he had formally filed a 60-page legal notice on January 31, in which Tusk and other officials, including government ministers, parliamentary speakers, judges, and prosecutors, are accused of forming an 'organized criminal group' working to undermine Poland's judiciary. He described the situation as a 'coup d'état' and stated that he had sought dialogue with the government, but his requests had been ignored. Read more Poland to question ex-justice minister over spyware Deputy prosecutor general Michal Ostrowski, a PiS-era appointee, is leading the investigation. He has accused Tusk's government of unlawfully taking control of key institutions such as public media, the National Prosecutor's Office, and the judiciary. The charges, which include attempting to overthrow a constitutional body, carry potential sentences of up to life imprisonment. Tusk appeared to dismiss the allegations in a social media post on Wednesday, sharing a video of himself playing table tennis with the caption 'coup d'état' and a laughing emoji. The case comes amid a deepening constitutional crisis in Poland, as Tusk's ruling Civic Coalition (KO) seeks to reverse PiS-era judicial reforms, targeting not just the Constitutional Tribunal but also the Supreme Court and the National Council of the Judiciary (KRS), while PiS officials and their allies in the judiciary resist. The government has dismissed dozens of PiS-appointed judges and prosecutors and over 50 ambassadors, citing unlawful appointments. PiS leaders, including Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who has publicly welcomed the charges against Tusk, claim his administration is dismantling independent institutions.
