A/HRC/41/33/Add.2 A. Affordable modern contraception 46. While the Government subsidizes some contraceptives, NGO interlocutors noted that modern contraceptives and related information and services were not readily available to many women because of costs, lack of information, geographic location and legal status. It is reported that women have to pay full price for the vast majority of hormonal contraception, the costs of which are too high for many women. 22 Adolescent girls face additional barriers in accessing contraceptives, as they require parental consent. 47. Furthermore, emergency contraceptive pills, which were previously available over the counter, can now only be obtained with a doctor’s prescription. Considering the circumstances in which emergency contraceptive pills are typically used, this requirement poses a significant barrier and defeats the very purpose of their use. Not only does it take time to be seen by a doctor, it has been reported that many doctors refuse to prescribe the pills, claiming conscientious objection. Moreover, some pharmacists have started to invoke the conscientious objection clause to refuse the sale of emergency contraceptives, even though this is illegal. Emergency contraception and antiretroviral drugs or related information are not provided to women victims/survivors of sexual violence at police stations. 48. Women cannot voluntarily choose surgical sterilization unless there are medical indications established by a doctor, such as that pregnancy would constitute a threat to life. This is not consistent with the State’s obligation to provide access to a full range of contraceptive methods. Conversely, there have been reports of women with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities living in institutions being sterilized. 23 These allegations require investigation. B. Voluntary termination of pregnancy 49. The 1993 Act on Family Planning, Protection of the Foetus and Conditions for the Admissibility of Abortion brought an end to decades of liberalization of the law whereby abortion was allowed on request. The 1993 law, often referred to as one of Europe’s most restrictive abortion laws, permits termination of pregnancy in three circumstances only: (1) when the pregnancy threatens the life or health of the pregnant woman; (2) when prenatal tests or other medical circumstances indicate the high probability of severe and irreversible impairment of the foetus or an incurable disease threatening its life; and (3) when there is a reasonable suspicion that the pregnancy arose as a result of a prohibited act. The first two circumstances need to be established by a doctor and the third one by a public prosecutor. A minor or a fully incapacitated woman will need to have the consent of her legal representative, and of a custody court if she is under 13 years of age. Moreover, some hospitals impose additional requirements such as the opinions of at least two specialist physicians, or a special council, or the head of the hospital maternity ward, which leads to a prolonged waiting period resulting in restricted access to the medical procedure guaranteed by law. 50. In addition, the mechanism for resolving disagreements between doctors and pregnant women in cases of risk to the health of the pregnant woman or the foetus, namely the Patients’ Ombudsperson appeal procedure, is not effective, as considered by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. 24 Not only does the 30-day time limit on such a time-sensitive procedure represent a barrier to timely access, only four complaints have been received under the procedure, and all of them were dismissed. Analysis undertaken by the Commissioner for Human Rights has found significant irregularities in the procedure’s operation. 22 23 24 KARAT Coalition, Alternative report on the Implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, February 2014. Association of Women with Disabilities ONE.pl and Women Enabled International, Submission to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities for its Review of Poland, 2018. CM/Del/Dec(2019)1340/H46-31. 11