The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Poland breached the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) by banning abortions done on the basis of an unborn child’s disability.
The Nov. 13 ruling stems from the case of a Polish woman who in 2020 traveled to the Netherlands to have an abortion after she discovered that her unborn child had a genetic disorder. Earlier that year, a Polish Constitutional Tribunal ruling had sought to ban eugenic abortions, which aim to eliminate children who have disabilities. After the woman’s abortion, she challenged the Polish law, appealing to the European Court of Human Rights.
In 2023, the European court decided that Poland’s law was in violation under Article 8 of the ECHR, which protects the right of respect in an individual’s private life, family life, home and correspondence. And last week, the court ruled that Poland had violated the rights of the Polish woman.
Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International has intervened in the case, calling on European institutions to “reaffirm their commitment to the protection of life and the rights of nations to legislate in accordance with their own constitutional and moral frameworks.”
“With this judgment the European Court of Human Rights has interfered in a matter that belongs squarely under Polish jurisdiction,” said Dr. Felix Böllmann, director of European Advocacy for ADF International, in a press release. “Poland has both the sovereign prerogative and the duty to protect all innocent human life. Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal acted courageously to protect children with disabilities from discrimination before birth—a goal fully consistent with international human rights law.”
The extent of how binding ECHR is has been under scrutiny by EU countries. Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland signed a joint letter calling for “a new and open-minded conversation about the interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights.” The May 22 letter, which particularly centered on immigration laws, also criticized the extended reach of the ECHR.
“We believe that the development in the court’s interpretation has, in some cases, limited our ability to make political decisions in our own democracies,” the letter said.
Böllmann warned of such overreach affecting innocent lives.
“This judgment sends a troubling signal that the Court is again willing to overstep its role. The Court should return to its original mission of protecting genuine human rights, not inventing false ones,” Böllmann said.
The ECHR is an international human rights treaty between 46 countries. It was created to protect fundamental rights following World War II and the Holocaust.
“The European Court should uphold, not undermine, the fundamental right to life,” Böllmann said, “and this ruling severely undermines the right to life of the disabled unborn. No baby should suffer life-ending discrimination in the womb.”
Hannah Davis is an Editorial Writer for Decision Magazine, a monthly magazine founded by Billy Graham in 1960 to communicate the Gospel, as well as inform and challenge readers about key cultural and Biblical issues. Decision is also a Contributing Publisher to Harbinger’s Daily.
Editor’s Note: Eugenics And God-Given Value
Founder and CEO of Answers in Genesis, Ken Ham, in his article, “Today’s Eugenics: A Child’s Life Should Not Be Exterminated Because Of A Disability,” detailed the tragedy of dehumanizing any life created in the image of God—especially the most vulnerable life in the womb.
“A human life doesn’t cease to have value because that person will have Down Syndrome, or a cleft palate, or any other disability commonly cited as a reason for abortion,” Ham emphasized. “A person’s value is fixed in the immutable fact that they are created in God’s very image—not in their perceived ‘quality of life,’ their able-bodied-ness, their contribution to society, or anything else.”
“A child’s life should not be exterminated because of a disability—that is evil (and is just another version of eugenics!),” he underscored.
“The discrimination against the unborn with disabilities needs to come to an end!” Ham urged. “Abortion is murder, whether that child is healthy or sick, newly conceived or at 24-weeks or full-term (or anywhere in between), or wanted or unwanted. Each human life has value because we’re made in the image of God.”
