Polish Catholicism
The doctors' declaration of faith
Ex-communist Europe
Eastern approaches
by A.H. | WARSAW
THE scene had a melodramatic touch: two stone tablets with an engraved Declaration of Faith by Polish doctors who recognise "the primacy of God's laws over human laws" in medicine were carried last month to a sanctuary in Częstochowa, in the south of Poland. The gesture was made out of gratitude for the canonisation of the Polish pope, John Paul II. It was the initiative of a physician and personal friend of the late pope, Wanda Półtawska.
The first 3,000 signatories of the declaration thereby announced that they will not violate the Ten Commandments by playing a part in abortion, birth control, in-vitro fertilisation or euthanasia. Abortion until the 25th week of pregnancy is legal in Poland if the mother's life is in grave danger, the foetus is known to have severe birth defects or the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest.
Poland has 377,000 doctors and nurses so the signatories represent barely 1% of the medical profession. And among them are many students, dozens of dentists, four balneologists and a dance therapist (number 1805 on the leaked list).
For some time, something of a religious war has been fought on social media and through internet petitions, where fundamentalist Catholics are well organised. But when the specific case of Bogdan Chazan, a gynaecologist, who obeyed his conscience and didn't respect the patient's rights, was described by a journalist in Wprost, a weekly, the matter suddenly became the talk of Warsaw. Even the prime minister, Donald Tusk, weighed in the debate and said doctors should put their obligation to the patient and the law above their private beliefs.
Mr Chazan is the director of the Holy Family Gynaecology and Obstetrics Hospital in the capital. According to his patient, he requested a seemingly endless list of extra tests so as to see her carry the pregnancy beyond the 25th week (when abortion becomes illegal). Yet the foetus has serious head and brain defects and is clearly unable to survive. Still pregnant as of this writing, the woman has lodged a complaint with the health minister, who has ordered a review of the case.
Three women journalists from Polska Newsweek (see picture of cover) tested the attitudes of several signatories of the "Declaration of Faith" by making three requests: one for a prescription for a morning-after pill, another for an abortion after rape, and a third for a prenatal test to detect any possible malformation. All three requests were turned down by every signatory doctor they asked even though the medical code requires physicians to direct a patient elsewhere if they do not want to assist for ethical reasons.
As part of the same discussion a news channel, TVN24, broadcast a live panel on whether an 11-year old girl, who is pregnant after being raped by her two cousins, should be allowed to have an abortion. "If the pregnancy does not endanger the life of the 11-year-old rape victim, this child has the right to life," explained Andrzej Jaworski, a parliamentarian of Law and Justice, a national-conservative party. It was not immediately obvious which child he was referring to.
Feminists and other activists recently demonstrated in front of parliament asking for "medical care, not Vatican care". They demanded that signatories of the declaration inform their patients about it so the patients know what to expect. In the meantime, an app now allows them to check whether or not their physician has signed the declaration. All it takes is an internet connection. And a tablet.
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