News

Monday March 15, 2010


British MPs Slam Polish Group Promoting Abortion ‘Tourism’ in U.K.

By Thaddeus M. Baklinski

POLAND, March 15, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A pro-abortion feminist organization in Poland, known only by the acronym SROM, has launched an ad campaign promoting “abortion tourism” to Britain by telling Polish women they can get a free abortion at a UK clinic, paid for by the National Health Service (NHS).

SROM’s poster shows a young woman in her underwear with the words “my choice” written across her stomach in English.

The group uses the Mastercard advertising logo – conjoined red and orange circles – but with “SROM” written over it.

“Plane ticket to England – 300 zloty ($107),” the poster reads.

“Accommodation – 240 zloty ($85). Abortion in a public clinic – 0 zloty.

“Relief after the procedure carried out in pleasant conditions – priceless.”

The slogan at the bottom of the poster reads: “For everything, you pay less than an underground abortion in Poland.”

Conservative party MP Anne Widdecombe slammed the abortion tourism ad campaign. “Britain has become the abortion capital of Europe. Our laws are far, far too lax,” she told the Daily Mail.

The Mail explained that under EU regulations, Britain has a reciprocal agreement with Poland to provide free medical care for anyone needing treatment, but that Polish women who are not resident in the UK would be expected to pay for an abortion that was not an emergency.

A spokeswoman for the UK Department of Health, however, said that there is no provision for Polish women to travel to the UK for abortions.

“The NHS is provided primarily for the benefit of people lawfully resident in the UK. There is no provision in the UK immigration rules for people to come to this country for the purpose of obtaining NHS treatment, and with certain exceptions non-residents are expected to pay for any medical treatment they receive while they are here,” the unnamed spokeswoman said in a Press Association report.

“We do, however, choose to exempt from charge the residents of some countries for some treatment needs when they visit the UK, under reciprocal healthcare agreements, meaning that UK citizens receive similar benefits when they visit those countries.”

Labour MP Kevin Barron said in an interview with The Telegraph that the UK’s free health service should not be funding abortions for Polish women.

“If a woman who is not British attempted to get a termination here I would hope they would be turned away,” said Barron. “The NHS should certainly not be funding terminations for Polish women. It would be against all regulations.”

Poland has one of the strictest abortion laws in Europe. Abortion is illegal in the country unless the woman’s life or health is endangered, the pregnancy is a result of a criminal act, or the unborn child is seriously malformed.

A 2008 report by the Polish Federation for Women and Family Planning claimed that 10,000 Polish women had abortions in Britain in 2007 in procedures costing the NHS between £5 million and £10 million.

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