Controversial Abortion Pill Package Locker Challenges Polish Law

The controversial package locker in Poland should be seen as a "feminist action that aims to show how upside-down things are," Kinga Jelinska, head of the Women Help Women foundation and co-founder of the Abortion Dream Team, describes to AFP.

- You can order underwear, cosmetics, mascara, whatever, and get it practically the same or the next day. Why not do the same with abortion pills where in some cases it can be even more urgent?, they develop their reasoning in The Guardian.

The service is intended for those who cannot wait several days to receive an abortion pill, something that is far from obvious in Poland. Although it is not illegal to either possess or take the pill - but giving it to someone or helping someone get it is a crime that can lead to up to three years in prison.

- The law is about directly handing something over to someone. Here we have a machine standing in between, which makes the legal situation unclear. We want to challenge the existing restrictions, continues Kinga Jelinska.

The pink-painted "Abortion Mat" stands at a medical clinic in Warsaw. Anyone who needs a pill to carry out a medical abortion is given a six-digit code that opens one of the 22 slots. The handling is anonymous.

The clinic is located opposite the Polish parliament, a deliberate and symbolic choice of location, writes AFP.

- It is a safe place where you can also get advice and support about different abortion options, says Kinga Jelinska, who believes that the discussion about abortion laws in Poland has stagnated since the very strong protests against them led to street demonstrations six years ago.

When Donald Tusk was elected prime minister in 2023, he promised to liberalize the law and that abortion would be allowed up to week 12, something that mobilized especially young voters. Since then, Tusk has publicly said that there is no political majority to pursue the issue.