Doctors jailed over death of pregnant woman that sparked mass abortion protests in Poland

Three doctors have been handed prison sentences for their dishonest treatment of a pregnant woman who died in hospital under their care. Her death in 2021 prompted mass protests against Poland's near-total abortion ban, which had been introduced earlier that year

The 30-year-old woman, Izabela, was admitted to hospital in the 22th week of her pregnancy following a premature rupture of membranes. Her foetus, which had severe developmental defects, subsequently died, and then so did Izabela herself soon after due to septic shock.

During her stay in hospital, Izabela wrote messages to her family saying that doctors had decided to “wait until [the foetus] dies”. She linked their decision to the abortion law and complained of being treated as an “incubator”.

However, supporters of the abortion law note that it still allows pregnancies to be terminated if they threaten the health or life of the mother. They thought that Izabela's death was the result of malpractice by doctors.

Prosecutors subsequently charged the three doctors with professional dishonesty that endangered their patient's life. One of them was additionally accused of manslaughter. All three guilt not guilty.

Today, the district court in Pszczyna, the town where Izabela was from, convicted all three doctors. The trial was held behind closed doors, with today's oral justifications for the rulings also kept confidential.

Two gynaecologists who were on duty during Izabela's treatment – and who can be named only as Michał M. and Andrzej P. under Polish privacy law – received prison sentences of one year and three months and one year and six months, respectively.

Krzysztof P., who was deputy head of the department in which she was treated, was handed a suspended sentence of one year in prison. All three have also been given temporary bans on practicing medicine ranging from four to six years, reports the Gazeta Wyborcza daily.

Prosecutor Magdalena Filipowicz described the sentences – which can still be appealed – as “satisfactory”, reports broadcaster RMF. The crimes of which the doctors were accused of carrying maximum sentences of five years.

Joanna Wolska, an activist from the Women's Strike movement that has led protests against the abortion law, welcomed “a verdict that all of Poland has been waiting for”.

An inspection of the hospital in Pszczyna shortly after Izabela's death found “a series of irregularities” in the treatment of pregnant women. It was fined 650,000 zlotys (€138,000) as a result.

Poland's commissioner for patients' rights, Bartłomiej Chmielowiec, said at the time that the hospital had failed to provide Izabela with proper care or even keep her properly informed of her condition.

Meanwhile, Donald Tusk – who was then an opposition leader and is now the prime minister – blamed Izabela's death on the tightening of the abortion law. He accused the then-ruling national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party of “selling itself to a religious sect”.

When Tusk's coalition came to power in December 2023, it pledged to liberalize the abortion law . However, it has so far been unable to do so owing to disagreements between more conservative and liberal elements of the ruling camp on what form the new abortion law should take.

Izabela's death is one of a number that activists have blamed on Poland's tightened abortion laws, which they argue make doctors even more reluctant to terminate pregnancies for fear of facing legal consequences.

In May this year, three doctors were charged over the death of another pregnant woman, Dorota, who died at a hospital in Nowy Targ in 2023, prompting further mass protests .

After Dorota's death, the PiS health minister, Adam Niedzielski, recalled doctors that “every woman whose life or health is threatened at any moment of her pregnancy has the right to terminate it” and set up a special team to work on “how to avoid mistakes during care of pregnant women”.

Main image credit: Adrianna Bochenek/ Agencja Wyborcza.pl