In most European countries pregnancy may be terminated at the woman's request, and the same is true in the USA, Canada, the States of the former Soviet Union, Mongolia, China, and Singapore. Many other countries have laws more permissive than the Polish one. Some in South America, Africa and South East Asia, have laws as strict as in Ireland. The Polish law has brought consequences that were foreseen and were set forth in our report of May 1994. What we observed then is true to this day.
Women seek to end an unwanted pregnancy at any cost.
The average cost is 400 dollars, higher in some places, highest in Warsaw. Many women go to neighboring countries for abortions. There are agencies that organize trips for this purpose. Our research enables us to calculate approximately the number of illegal abortions that Polish women have had at home and abroad. The figure is about 16,000 abortions abroad each year and at least twice as many inside Poland.