UN experts on Tuesday urged Poland to acquit Justyna Wydrzyńska, a human rights defender and abortion rights activist previously sentenced to eight months of community service.

Advocating for the protection of human rights defenders such as Wydrzyńska, the experts noted the work of individuals like her “remains one of the few avenues for safe abortion in Poland, where access to services to terminate a pregnancy is virtually non-existent in practice.” The group of UN experts urged Poland “to stop targeting human rights defenders – in particular those who speak out against the country’s restrictive abortion law – and to take positive measures to ensure accessible, safe and legal abortion.” The experts also requested that Poland comply with international obligations and amend legislation to decriminalize abortion.

A group of UN experts in 2022 called for the acquittal of Justyna Wydrzyńska in a communication to the Government of Poland, additionally submitting an amicus curiae to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in 2021.

Wydrzyńska was charged with “helping with an abortion” and “possession of medicines without authorization for the purpose of introducing them into the market” a year after helping a woman who was a victim of domestic violence access abortion medication in 2020. She was sentenced to eight months of community service in March 2023.

In February 2025, Wydrzyńska’s sentence was overturned, and the Warsaw Court of Appeal ordered a retrial following concerns over judicial impartiality.

Wydrzyńska, as an abortion rights activist, founded Women on the Net in 2006, Poland’s first internet forum dedicated to informing and supporting women in Poland seeking access to safe abortions, contraception or sex education. Currently working with the grassroots initiative Abortion Dream Team, she has organized campaigns raising awareness to combat the stigma against abortion and offers training and advice on discussing and accessing abortion. Other rights organizations have recently called for Wydrzyńska’s conviction to be reversed.

Abortion laws in Poland are among the most restrictive in Europe. Abortions are permitted only in cases when the life or health of a pregnant person is at risk or when the pregnancy is the result of a criminal act such as rape or incest. Although a person terminating their own pregnancy and the possession of abortion medication are not criminal offences, intentionally and directly providing assistance during an abortion are illegal.