The Polish in vitro discourse as a “second debate on abortion:” Sociological discourse analysis

Author(s): Magdalena Kozub-Karkut

Publication date (Electronic, pub): 11 July 2022

Publisher: Peter Lang

Keywords: public discourse, discourse of politics, abortion debate, discourse on IVF, the Polish Catholic Church, parliamentary debates

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Abstract

The chapter analyzes the Polish discourse about in vitro fertilization (IVF) as well as explores how it resembles the Polish abortion debate which was held mainly during the 1990s, but which has recently also come back to the political agenda. The research question of the chapter is how the official statements of the Polish Catholic Church influences the parliamentary debates and as a consequence the whole legislation process. In addition, the aim is to identify and understand some discursive mechanisms that are involved during the debates as well as to define main strategies used during Polish parliamentary debates. The study analyses the parliamentary debates which took place between 2004 and 2018 and which were related either to the issues of the IFV or the right to the abortion. The inquiry is conducted in the sociological discourse analysis paradigm, defined as a part of the qualitative discourse analysis and perceived as a method which helps to achieve the chapter’s goal and answer research questions. The chapter identifies several key strategies used by participants in the public debate, like for instance: discussing the issue of freedom; evoking the processes of modernization and accession to the EU; referring to parliamentary or presidential elections while evoking the arguments of main candidates and political parties or pointing out the role and position of the Polish Catholic Church. In conclusion, the chapter emphasizes some of the most evident pathologies of the Polish discourse on abortion and IVF.

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Stigmatisation and commercialisation of abortion services in Poland: turning sin into gold.

Agata Chełstowska (2011)

This paper is about the economic consequences of the stigmatisation and illegality of abortion and its almost complete removal from public health services in Poland since the late 1980s. Once abortion left the public sphere, it entered the grey zone of private arrangements, in which a woman's private worries became someone else's private gain, and her sin turned into gold. The most important consequence was social inequality, as the right to health, life, information and safety became commodities on the free market. Women with money, who are more likely to have political influence, find this bearable, while working class women lack the political capital to protest. In the private sector, there are no government controls on price, quality of care or accountability, and almost no prosecutions. With an estimated 150,000 abortions per year, a rough estimate of US$ 95 million is being generated annually for doctors, unregistered and tax-free. Thus, the combined forces of right-wing ideology and neoliberal economic reforms have created reproductive and social injustice. To address this, stigmatisation of abortion must be countered. But a change in the political climate, a less restrictive interpretation of the law, or even a new law would not resolve the problem. Given reductions in public health care spending, abortion would remain excluded from state coverage unless neoliberal health care reforms could be reversed.