Latest news with #Jagielska
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
'He kept saying I'm a murderer': Polish doctor targeted for legal abortion
A leading Polish doctor has told the BBC she fears for her patients' safety after being targeted by anti-abortion activists. Gizela Jagielska says she has received thousands of death threats in relation to her work administering legal abortions in a hospital in the town of Olesnica in southwestern Poland. The facility specialises in complicated pregnancies. On 17 April, a group of activists led by radical, far-right MEP Grzegorz Braun came to the hospital, prevented Dr Jagielska from leaving her office and attempted to carry out a citizen's arrest. Footage posted on social media also shows the activists praying. "[Braun] kept repeating that I am a murderer, and the police should arrest me as I am a dangerous person," said Dr Jagielska. "He grabbed me, pushed me and blocked me in the [office]." The gynaecologist says police were called, but officers failed to arrest the activists. As a member of the European Parliament, Braun has immunity from detention. A spokesman for Poland's interior ministry said police "took steps to ensure the safety of the hospital in Olesnica and the doctor who was verbally attacked by Grzegorz Braun". The Polish government has condemned Mr Braun's actions. Since the incident, the doctor has been inundated with abuse, and the hospital has been targeted by a bomb threat. "I had many, many mails, messages and posts about me in social media; pictures, for example, where I am covered in blood, with the statement 'murderer'," she told the BBC. "Some people wanted to gather in front of my house; my private address was there." Dr Jagielska says the police are investigating the threats, and offered to arrange close protection, which she turned down due to the nature of her work. But the police did provide "special numbers" to call in case of an emergency. "I'm really worried that anybody could come into the hospital - not for me, but for the patients that are having abortions. I think it's a dangerous situation for them also." The confrontation at Olesnica hospital was sparked by the case of a woman who had a legal, late-term abortion after her unborn baby was diagnosed with a severe foetal anomaly, which is fatal to the child shortly after birth. The termination was carried out by Dr Jagielska, who explained that the condition was initially misdiagnosed at another hospital, resulting in a late-term abortion. Poland has some of the strictest abortion laws in Europe which only permit the procedure in cases of rape, incest, or if the mother's life is threatened. Prime Minister Donald Tusk's coalition, which came to power in late 2023, promised to liberalise abortion laws, but internal disagreements have hampered his efforts. Rhetoric over a hot-button topic like abortion has become more heated in recent weeks amidst a crucial presidential election campaign in Poland. Grzegorz Braun, who instigated the attack against Dr Jagielska, is one of those standing for president, but is polling at just 2%. In a televised presidential election debate on Monday, he made several antisemitic remarks. Braun was expelled from the Polish parliament in 2023 for putting out candles during the Jewish festival of Hanukkah with a fire extinguisher. Earlier this year he was removed from the European Parliament for disrupting a Holocaust memorial ceremony. Two of the three frontrunners in the election race, Karol Nawrocki and Slawomir Mentzen, have both spoken out against abortion. Mentzen, from the far-right Confederation Party, caused controversy recently after he said abortion should be illegal in all cases, including rape, which he appeared to describe as "unpleasantness". Liberal candidate Rafal Trzaskowski, from Mr Tusk's coalition, has promised abortion reform. Last week, President Andrzej Duda waded into the debate, describing the controversial abortion case at Olesnica hospital as "barbaric" and "murder". Dr Jagielska said intimidation of medical staff who carry out abortions in Poland was common, and described Duda's statements as "inappropriate". "I perform abortions when they are wanted by women and within legal circumstances according to Polish law, so I don't feel like a murderer," she told the BBC. "I feel like an obstetrician who gives proper care for women." Polish MP who doused Hanukkah candles loses immunity
BBC News
30-04-2025
- Health
- BBC News
'He kept saying I'm a murderer': Polish doctor targeted for legal abortion
A leading Polish doctor has told the BBC she fears for her patients' safety after being targeted by anti-abortion Jagielska says she has received thousands of death threats in relation to her work administering legal abortions in a hospital in the town of Olesnica in southwestern Poland. The facility specialises in complicated 17 April, a group of activists led by radical, far-right MEP Grzegorz Braun came to the hospital, prevented Dr Jagielska from leaving her office and attempted to carry out a citizen's arrest. Footage posted on social media also shows the activists praying. "[Braun] kept repeating that I am a murderer, and the police should arrest me as I am a dangerous person," said Dr Jagielska. "He grabbed me, pushed me and blocked me in the [office]."The gynaecologist says police were called, but officers failed to arrest the activists. As a member of the European Parliament, Braun has immunity from detention. A spokesman for Poland's interior ministry said police "took steps to ensure the safety of the hospital in Olesnica and the doctor who was verbally attacked by Grzegorz Braun". The Polish government has condemned Mr Braun's the incident, the doctor has been inundated with abuse, and the hospital has been targeted by a bomb threat."I had many, many mails, messages and posts about me in social media; pictures, for example, where I am covered in blood, with the statement 'murderer'," she told the BBC. "Some people wanted to gather in front of my house; my private address was there." Dr Jagielska says the police are investigating the threats, and offered to arrange close protection, which she turned down due to the nature of her work. But the police did provide "special numbers" to call in case of an emergency."I'm really worried that anybody could come into the hospital - not for me, but for the patients that are having abortions. I think it's a dangerous situation for them also."The confrontation at Olesnica hospital was sparked by the case of a woman who had a legal, late-term abortion after her unborn baby was diagnosed with a severe foetal anomaly, which is fatal to the child shortly after birth. The termination was carried out by Dr Jagielska, who explained that the condition was initially misdiagnosed at another hospital, resulting in a late-term has some of the strictest abortion laws in Europe which only permit the procedure in cases of rape, incest, or if the mother's life is threatened. Prime Minister Donald Tusk's coalition, which came to power in late 2023, promised to liberalise abortion laws, but internal disagreements have hampered his over a hot-button topic like abortion has become more heated in recent weeks amidst a crucial presidential election campaign in Braun, who instigated the attack against Dr Jagielska, is one of those standing for president, but is polling at just 2%. In a televised presidential election debate on Monday, he made several antisemitic remarks. Braun was expelled from the Polish parliament in 2023 for putting out candles during the Jewish festival of Hanukkah with a fire extinguisher. Earlier this year he was removed from the European Parliament for disrupting a Holocaust memorial of the three frontrunners in the election race, Karol Nawrocki and Slawomir Mentzen, have both spoken out against abortion. Mentzen, from the far-right Confederation Party, caused controversy recently after he said abortion should be illegal in all cases, including rape, which he appeared to describe as "unpleasantness".Liberal candidate Rafal Trzaskowski, from Mr Tusk's coalition, has promised abortion week, President Andrzej Duda waded into the debate, describing the controversial abortion case at Olesnica hospital as "barbaric" and "murder".Dr Jagielska said intimidation of medical staff who carry out abortions in Poland was common, and described Duda's statements as "inappropriate"."I perform abortions when they are wanted by women and within legal circumstances according to Polish law, so I don't feel like a murderer," she told the BBC. "I feel like an obstetrician who gives proper care for women."
New York Times
14-02-2025
- Science
- New York Times
Lasers, Waffle Fries and the Secrets in Pterosaurs' Tails
Above the shores of prehistoric seas and lakes, pterosaurs roamed the skies. They were feathered creatures that ranged in size from pigeons to planes, and the first vertebrates known to have been able to fly. And for millions of years, they had long tails ending in a prominent flap of skin called a vane. Paleontologists have long wondered about this strange appendage and its purpose. A team of scientists using a laser scanning technology have found new structures in four pterosaur fossils that helped keep the vane stiff, suggesting it aided maneuvering in flight. The study, published in December in the journal eLife, shows that 'even fossils that we knew and studied in detail for hundreds of years might have new things to show if you develop new technology to see them,' said Natalia Jagielska, a paleontologist at the Lyme Regis Museum in England and the paper's lead author. Dr. Jagielska, also a professional artist, became involved in the research after Michael Pittman, a paleontologist at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, approached her about illustrating a children's book. They teamed up to examine pterosaur fossils in collections in England and Scotland. After surveying over 100 pterosaur specimens, scientists picked four from the species Rhamphorhynchus, which often had diamond-shaped, kitelike tail vanes, for follow-up with laser-stimulated fluorescence. Dr. Pittman and Thomas G. Kaye, director of the Foundation for Scientific Advancement and an author of the study, have promoted the technique for exploring dinosaur-era remains and for archaeological investigations. The laser method makes use of how some minerals glow when electrons absorb and then re-emit light. As a laser passes over the fossils, long-exposure digital photography captures hidden features that stand out Pictures from the first pterosaur specimen they scanned showed a lattice structure in the tail vane. For Dr. Pittman, this was 'a ta-da moment.' 'It looks like the kind of crisscross on a waffle fry,' he said. 'But that structure in engineering is a reinforcing structure.' The 'struts' of this lattice could have been beneficial to flight, Dr. Jagielska said. They would 'tense up when you have a gust of air, similar to a sail in a ship, and that probably reduces the flutter' and might have helped the pterosaur in 'making turns,' she said. Scientists say the primary function for the vane still could have been social display, like a peacock's tail feathers are a signal to attract mates. In that vein, the vane most likely had prominent colors and patterns that are not preserved in the fossil record, Dr. Pittman said. Even so, like a modern billboard, the 'display surface' needed support structures, which this study reveals in pterosaurs for the first time, Dr. Pittman said. Had the vane fluttered unfettered, it would have been 'extremely costly and simultaneously useless as a visual signal,' said Michael Habib, a pterosaur flight expert at the University of California, Los Angeles, and an author of the study. The result is a significant advancement in the study of pterosaurs, said Andrea Cau, a paleontologist in Italy who was not involved in the study. He noted that one of the pterosaur fossils had not shown any soft-tissue details using other techniques but that the laser fluorescence had brought them out. 'Given the rarity of soft-tissue remains in paleontology, even just a single new fossil makes the difference,' he said. Future studies of pterosaur tails may illuminate 'just how good was this structure as a rudder or as a stabilizer,' said Scott Persons, a paleontologist at the College of Charleston in South Carolina who was not involved in this study. Given that different pterosaurs had differently sized vanes, more research may also show whether that variation had to do more with optimizing flight or 'fashion.' Dr. Jagielska would like to explore why the long tails with vanes disappeared in pterosaurs by the start of the Cretaceous period, about 146 million years ago. Further laser scanning may also bring out other characteristics important to pterosaur flight. A better understanding of their anatomy could even inspire airborne vehicles someday. 'If they were so efficient that they could live for hundreds of millions of years, they probably are doing something right,' Dr. Jagielska said.
