R.R. (2003) – Poland

Woman with likely fetal anomaly denied prenatal examination and abortion

Center for Reproductive Rights, 2008

A pregnant woman (“R.R.”) was repeatedly refused diagnostic care after a routine sonogram detected a cyst on the fetus’s neck. Genetic tests were repeatedly stalled, preventing her from obtaining timely information on the health of the fetus and hindering her from seeking a legal abortion within the time limit. The child was subsequently born with Turner syndrome. (Poland has a restrictive law, but abortion is legal in cases of fetal abnormality.)  The case “R.R. v Poland” went to the European Court of Human Rights, which ruled in 2011 that Poland violated Article 3 (the right to be free from inhuman and degrading treatment) and Article 8 (the right to respect for private life) of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Source: Center for Reproductive Rights