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Reproductive Rights in Poland: when politicians fear the wrath of the Church

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  • Jacqueline Heinen
  • Stéphane Portet

Abstract

The historical prestige of the Polish Catholic Church is the result of its presence as a national symbol of resistance, both under foreign occupation and during the communist regime. In the post-communist era the power of the Church within the political arena has significantly increased, through the Concordat that was signed with the state as well as through formal and informal ties with political parties. Catholicism is the de facto religion of the state, even if Poland remains a nominally secular country. This was illustrated by the adoption, in 1993, of a total abortion ban. Although the relation of Poles to the Catholic dogma on sexuality and reproductive rights tends to be weak, fearing criticism from Church authorities, most politicians avoid controversial topics and express their commitment to Catholic dogma. Thus women's groups have encountered serious difficulties in their efforts to defend women's rights to sexual and reproductive autonomy. Although accession to the European Union has put Poland in an awkward position with respect to equality of rights between women and men, it has not fundamentally altered the real situation with respect to the controversial topic of abortion.

Suggested Citation

  • Jacqueline Heinen & Stéphane Portet, 2010. "Reproductive Rights in Poland: when politicians fear the wrath of the Church," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(6), pages 1007-1021.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:ctwqxx:v:31:y:2010:i:6:p:1007-1021
    DOI: 10.1080/01436597.2010.502735
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    Cited by:

    1. Mala Htun & Francesca R. Jensenius, 2020. "Political Change, Women’s Rights, and Public Opinion on Gender Equality in Myanmar," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 32(2), pages 457-481, April.
    2. Śmiechowski Kamil, 2023. "Some Remarks About the Workers’ Motherhood in the Industrial City of Łódź in the 19th–20th Centuries," Studia Historiae Oeconomicae, Sciendo, vol. 41(2), pages 19-40, December.
    3. Senem Ertan, 2016. "How to Study Gender Equality Policy Cross-Nationally? Aggregate or Disaggregate Gender Equality Policy Indices?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 125(1), pages 47-76, January.
    4. Jan Gromadzki, 2019. "Trends in occupational segregation by gender in a post-communist country," IBS Working Papers 09/2019, Instytut Badan Strukturalnych.

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