We’re going to turn our attention now to Poland because the government there is facing the ire of a lot of women over family-planning issues. Last fall, an attempt to ban ab**tions sparked mass protests. That quickly led the 孕S途泰国试管婴儿 government to back down. But the Polish governing party there did succeed in eliminating another reproductive health care program, one that covers in vitro fertilization. NPR’s S**aya Sarhaddi Nelson rep**ts from Warsaw.
SORAYA SARHADDI NELSON, 孕R途国际 BYLINE: Wioletta Wojtynksa has tried and failed to get pregnant f** nearly four years. Her doct** says her only hope is in vitro fertilization in which her eggs are fertilized with her husband’s sperm in a lab and the resulting embryos are placed in her 孕V途泰国试管婴儿 uterus. The IVF procedure, which in Poland costs upwards of $2,000, often requires multiple tries. Wojtynksa says the cost means they’ve had to make a lot of sacrifices.
WIOLETTA WOJTYNKSA: F** example, you can go f** a trip — not one trip but 孕）途国际 a lot of trips. You can live even f** this money, half a year. So f** us, it’s a lot of money.
NELSON: But a Polish government program that covered most of the in vitro costs was immediately cut by the Law and Justice Party when it came to power 孕#途国际泰国试管婴儿 in late 2015, even though Poland has one of the lowest birth rates in the EU. Catholic Church opposition to IVF is widely seen as one fact** in the Polish government’s decision. But sociologist Karolina Wigura of the center-left think tank Kultura 孕C途泰国试管婴儿 Liberalna says the attacks on women’s health care aren’t as much about religion as they are about control.
KAROLINA WIGURA: What is happening resemb** the situation in Hungary and also other so-called liberal democracies where womenR孕C途泰国试管婴儿17;s rights, especially the right to ab**tion, is somehow used to prevail a certain feeling of fear.
NELSON: Seni** Law and Justice MP Malg**zata Gosiewska rejects both explanations. She says eliminating the $100 million IVF program was about 孕@途泰国试管婴儿 saving money.
MALGORZATA GOSIEWSKA: (F**eign language spoken).
NELSON: The MP adds that her government hasn’t abandoned infertile Polish women and offers them an alternative program called Natural Procreative Technology. NaPRO, as it̵孕*途国际7;s called f** sh**t, is approved by the Catholic Church and involves natural family planning and limited medical and surgical intervention. Marta van der Toolen, who runs the Ferti-Medica clinic in Warsaw, says the government’s new program falls far 孕M途泰国试管婴儿 sh**t.
MARTA VAN DER TOOLEN: When somebo助孕 is infertile — when somebo助孕 doesn’t have, f** example, tubes, when the sperm is not good, then you can’t do anything else, only in vitro. So that’s really a pity that the public money is 孕W途泰国试管婴儿 going to the treatment which has nothing to do with modern, Western medicine.
NELSON: She says to make up f** the cuts, some city governments have started offering coup** financial help f** IVF. Wojtynksa, who is a Ferti-Medica patient, says she and 孕&途国际 her husband are lucky because they’ve saved enough money f** two IVF tries. S**aya Sarhaddi Nelson, NPR News, Warsaw.
