In a country where the men dominated conservatie parties in parliament have limited the rights of abortion substantially, advocates for women’s rights have launched a new initiative. On 29 September 2026, the first ever “abortomat” — an abortion pill “ATM” — was opened in the capital Warsaw.
The wall lockers have been installed by Women Help Women (WHW) and the Abortion Dream Team (ADT). It has 22 numbered lockers and a keypad. Those who seek help wiht WHW get a 6-digit PIN code that opens one of the lockers. It is is a package of pills to abort the unwanted pregnancy.
Criminal charges
Since a few years the rights of abortion are limited to only pregnancy as result of a crime (rape/incest) or if it threaten’s the mother’s life. Doctors who are helping women in other situations will face criminal charges and up to three years in prison. This has already led to the widespread covered death of at least one woman whose doctors refused abortion despite clear signs of a life-threatening situation.
“Underground” abortions
According to WHW, only 851 legal abortion took place in Poland last year. Although no numbers exist, experts believe many more abortions took place “underground” or abroad. For example, in the Netherlands — with 18 million people about half the population size of Poland — the number of abortions was 39,000 annually.
Asked why the “abortomat” would be legal, Polish women’s rights advocate Justyna Wydrzyńska was quoted by Wirtualna Polska. “The abortomat is not a human being, and the person collecting the pills, in accordance with the regulations, is not breaking the law.” | © 2026 Marcel Burger, nordicreporter.com. Featured image: The first abortion pill machine of Poland, Warsaw, 30 September 2026 (Photo: Martyna Adamska (CC))