A new ad by Polish pro-abortion group SROM has come under harsh criticism by British MPs for promoting abortion tourism to the UK.
The ad features a young girl in white lingerie with the words “My choice” written on her stomach. The rest of the ad reads like a Mastercard commercial:
“Plane ticket to England – 300 zloty.
Accommodation – 240 zloty.
Abortion in a public clinic – 0 zloty.
Relief after a procedure carried out in decent conditions – priceless.
For everything, you pay less than an underground abortion in Poland.”
SROM is attempting to educate women on how to bypass Polish abortion law, currently the strongest in the EU, in order to obtain “safe” abortions. Unfortunately, Britain isn’t too pleased with their solution.
“When the Abortion Act was liberalised I said it would turn Britain into the abortion capital of Europe and that seems to be exactly what’s happened,” MP Anne Widdecombe told a UK newspaper. Other MPs expressed similar concern over the advertisement and the implications for the British health care system.
Whether the ad is even providing women with “correct” advice is up for debate. The British Department of Health claims that it would be very difficult for a non-resident to receive an abortion unless an emergency. A women from Poland would be required to have a formal referral from a doctor in order to have the procedure. Something unlikely to happen, claims the Department of Health.
However, according to a 2008 report from the Polish Federation for Women and Family Planning 10,000 polish women received abortion in the UK in 2007, costing British National Health Services €5.5 – €11 million.