Polish activist, cofounder of Abortion Dream Team found guilty of supplying abortion pills

In thefirst such case in Poland, women's rights activist Justyna Wydrzynska was found guilty of supplying abortion pills to a pregnant woman. The Catholic country has some of the tightest regulations in Europe and all abortions are prohibited except in instances of rape, incest, or situations in which the mother's life or health is in danger, as per AFP.

"Guilty: of providing assistance," the Abortion Dream Team organisation co-founded by Wydrzynska said on Twitter afterthe verdict.

It said that she was sentenced to "eight months of community service at 30 hours a month."

Wydrzynska faces up to three years in jailfor "helping with an abortion" and the "unauthorised possession of medicine".

Speaking to reporters outside the court, Wydrzynska said she would file an appeal.

"I do not feel guilty... I don't accept the verdict," she added.

She said she would "continue to answer the phone for Abortion Dream Team" to help women in need, as quoted by AFP.

The Abortion Dream Team, an organisation co-founded byWydrzynska, claimed that it assisted44,000 abortions in 2022.

Wydrzynska's defence attorney, Jerzy Podgorski, claimed that if the defendant had not been an activist, the judgment may not have been this harsh.

"If that was a private person, anonymous, and not publicly known, the sentence could have been different," Podgorski said, adding that he had argued in court that Wydrzynska's conduct had caused negligible social harm.

Politics played a key role in Wydrzynska's case, according to Abortion Dream Team's Natalia Broniarczyk.

"We think the prosecutor did not ask for the maximum sentence, because it is an election year," Broniarczyk said after the verdict, adding thatthe majority of Polish residents, according to studies, support abortion legislation reform.

(With inputs from agencies)

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