ECHR: Significant Defeat for the Abortion Lobby

The international abortion lobby has just suffered a major defeat before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in the B.B. v. Poland decision. In this case, the ECLJ faced the main abortion lobbies: the Center for Reproductive Rights, the Federation for Woman and Family Planning and the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights. This abortion lobby was attacking the restrictions on access to abortion in Poland and the right to conscientious objection, after a doctor refused in 2014 to perform an abortion after 24 weeks of pregnancy on a disabled unborn child. This is a case of "strategic litigation", fabricated, and instrumentalizing the suffering of a woman, seeking compensation for being forced to give birth to a disabled child.

Despite the power and efforts of these lobbies, it is the legal argument of the ECLJ and the Polish government, summarized in §41 of the Court's decision, that prevailed. The ECLJ had indeed demonstrated that the applicant no longer had the status of "victim" to complain to the ECHR, as she had already reached an amicable settlement with the hospital in question, and had received substantial compensation. Consequently, the ECHR unanimously declared the application inadmissible. This decision was necessary.

As an annex to its written observations, the ECLJ had also submitted to the Court the exclusive testimony of the doctor in question, in English. Humiliated for years, he must be happy today that a fair decision was issued by the ECHR.

The true face of this lobby, revealed on the occasion of this case

The pro-abortion lobby has once again revealed its true face with this case, in particular its eugenic beliefs. The applicant's first lawyer had to be replaced after he was convicted of organized crime involving extortion of 248 disabled people. The new lawyer challenged the ECLJ's brief, accusing us of developing "extremist religious arguments." This lobby pushed the applicant to call her child a "monster" in the media, and attacked her doctor. The doctor was publicly called by the Polish left "the incarnation of Satan", a "possessed" person, a "degenerate" and a "person without conscience." He lost his position as hospital director because of this case. Finally, in 2020, the Constitutional Court of Poland declared eugenic abortion contrary to the human dignity guaranteed in the Constitution and consequently banned it.

The question of the impartiality of the Registry of the ECHR

This case has incidentally raised another important question, this time concerning the internal functioning of the Court. Indeed, several Polish lawyers who are members of the ECHR Registry - and who are likely to deal with this case - have publicly taken a position in favour of abortion. This is notably the case of Katarzyna Szwed, member of a Polish "Feminist Revolutionary Brigade" and spokesperson for Polish abortion protests. Since her departure from the ECHR, she has been working for "Abortion Without Borders." The ECLJ has denounced the lack of impartiality of these European Court officials. This is an important issue, compounded by the opacity of the Court's registry, whose list of members is not made public, unlike the Court of Justice of the European Union or the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

This defeat of the abortion lobby is important, but it continues its "war" against the protection of human life, especially against Poland, which is the object of relentless attacks at the ECHR. Other "battles" and judgments are to come. See more about it in our dedicated section.

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