Protests in Poland after young mother denied abortion dies
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The family of the woman says they want to save other women in Poland from a similar fate.
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Abortion Without Borders protest outside a Polish court (AP)
Protests have erupted across Poland this week in response to the death of a woman denied an abortion.
The incident comes a year after Poland enacted one of Europe's most strict abortion laws. The ruling specifies that abortions may only be carried out in case of rape, incest, or if a mother's life and health are in critical condition.
Protesters put flowers and lights in remembrance of Agnieszka T, who died early Tuesday.
Agnieszka was expecting twins when one of the fetuses' heartbeats stopped on December 23 and physicians refused to abort. She and her family waited for the second fetus to die and according to the family, the pregnancy was terminated on December 31.
According to her twin sister, Agnieszka's "husband begged the doctors to save his wife, even at the cost of the pregnancy."
After being relocated from the gynecological unit following the termination of pregnancy, her health condition deteriorated further until her death. Although a cause of death still has not been specified by the hospital, Agnieszka's family believes her cause of death may have been sepsis.
In a statement, her family says the state has "blood on its hands." Additional protests are scheduled in the hometown of Agnieska in southern Poland.
Marta Lempart, the organizer of the protests, told Polish media that the protests will continue to avoid any more deaths.
“Another person has died because the necessary medical procedure was not carried out on time.”
The All-Poland Women's Strike has called on citizens across the country to picket the headquarters of the ruling Law and Justice Party and organize roadblocks in the coming days.
Last September, a woman named Izabela died after she was denied medical care or abortion when her water broke in her 22nd week of pregnancy. Later, an inquiry determined that she died of medical malpractice and the hospital was fined. A Polish man from Widnica later came forward and expressed that his wife had died of similar circumstances.
Agnieszka's death is now under investigation by regional prosecutors.
