From conception to death
Kaczyński has once again pulled the pin and thrown a grenade at the sovereign exhausted by the pandemic. It is clear that this bitter, envious and hate-filled old man, whose greatest and only effectively completed life achievement is to divide Poles, will not rest until he turns Poland into a religious state, brutally imposing his own worldview on the nation, forcing women and their loved ones to unimaginable suffering and making our country a laughing stock in the civilized world.
He did it for the first time in 2017, announcing a draft amendment to the act on family planning, protection of the human fetus and the conditions for the admissibility of pregnancy termination. In the black umbrella protest, several hundred thousand angry people took to the streets, and Kaczyński withdrew from these changes.
The second attempt came in October 2020. This time, however, he chose a simpler path. Instead of a full legislative path, which would have required political costs, it was enough to use the Constitutional Tribunal taken over at the beginning of the government, headed by the pretending independence of Magister Przyłębska. The Tribunal's verdict again caused mass protests, which Kaczyński was frightened of, but endured, surrounded by countless police cordons.
He decided to publish the judgment only in January, three months after the decision of the Tribunal, which was not published immediately as required by the Constitution, because in the PiS state it is not the Constitution that decides on the dates of publication of judgments.
The entry into force of the new regulations was preceded by the publication of the justification for the October judgment. I took the trouble to familiarize myself with this document in detail. It is not an easy document, especially for someone who is not a lawyer, but it is easy not to notice the manipulation that the Court of Magistrate Przyłębska committed.
The judgment states that the admissibility of terminating a pregnancy in the event of severe and irreversible impairment of the foetus or an incurable disease that threatens its life is inconsistent with the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, and specifically with Article 38 in connection with Article 30 in connection with Article 31 section 3.
What do these articles of our Constitution say?
Article 38 states that "The Republic of Poland shall ensure legal protection of life to every human being."
Article 30 states that "The inherent and inalienable dignity of man is the source of freedom and human and citizen rights. It is inviolable, and its respect and protection is the duty of public authorities."
Article 31, paragraph 3 states: "Restrictions on the exercise of constitutional freedoms and rights may be established only by statute and only when they are necessary in a democratic state for its security or public order, or for the protection of the environment, health or public morals, or the freedoms and rights of other persons. Such restrictions may not violate the essence of freedoms and rights."
In the shortest possible terms, the Tribunal used the following reasoning in its justification. Since human life begins at the moment of conception, the Republic of Poland provides legal protection to a person already in the prenatal period. And since this legal protection is to be provided, then abortion is inconsistent with the Constitution.
The manipulation consists in the fact that the Constitution does not specify at any point when human life begins, so the Tribunal, whose sole role is to examine the conformity of laws with the Constitution, assessed this conformity not based on the provisions of the Constitution, but on the worldview of Jarosław Kaczyński.
I admit that I began to love my three children the moment I found out that their Mother was pregnant, and from that very moment on, there was no doubt in my mind that they were flesh and blood people, even though at that moment they were still microscopic embryos who still had almost nine whole months ahead of them before the umbilical cord was cut.
However, I do not think it is necessary for our Constitution to regulate at what point human life begins. For some, it may be the moment of conception. For St. Thomas Aquinas, it was the moment of the union of the rational soul with the child's organism, or the 40th day of pregnancy for boys and the 90th day of pregnancy for girls. Others believe that we become human at the moment of birth.
I was lucky because my children were born healthy. However, if it turned out that one of them was conceived with a severe and irreversible disability or an incurable disease, I would want the decision about whether to be born to be made by his mother. It would be inhumane for someone else to make that decision for her, and certainly not that grumpy and out-of-touch cynic from Żoliborz who got it into his head that he knows best what is good for people.
It is worth reading the separate opinion submitted to the judgment of the Tribunal by Professor Leon Kieres – the only member of the Constitutional Tribunal not appointed by the current government, who in 32 pages, methodically and accurately explains why he does not share the judgment and its justification, despite the fact that his ideological credo, with which he begins his argument, literally reads as follows: "I believe that human life comes into being at the moment of conception, the right to life is the innate right of every human being, the state has the duty to take effective action to protect the life of every human being, including in the prenatal phase, regardless of the economic costs, abortion – regardless of the reasons – is the deprivation of human life. My views on the above matters have been shaped by the social teaching and doctrine of the Catholic Church and – as far as I am allowed to judge – are fully consistent with them."
Let us leave the history of carrying out this religious crusade, which Kaczyński provided us with, through the hands of a faithful pseudo-judge, Magister Przyłębska. The verdict has become a fact and nothing will be able to change it, for which I would like to accuse Marta Lempart and you, dear reader.
Let's start with Marta Lempart. There's no doubt that she did and is doing a great job. The fact that Kaczyński did not publish the verdict in October is undoubtedly largely due to Marta Lempart - an efficient and charismatic organizer of the protests. I support these protests with all my heart, and I myself have participated in them many times. However, I believe that the rhetoric of these protests makes them ineffective, because it does not win them supporters.
I subscribe to the opinion that Kaczyński and his acolytes are criminals, but I would not use such words at rallies. I like the slogan ***** ***, I use it often myself, but I would not make it the main slogan of a demonstration, because it is only grist for the mill of PiS functionaries and a reason for those less decisive to consider these demonstrations as chutzpah and tomfoolery.
I imagine that the expression "f***" is unlikely to have a positive impact on most PiS supporters, or those who stand on the sidelines, or those who don't give a damn.
I think that instead of "Jarek, get the f*** off my vagina", it is more likely that the banner "Jarek, don't hurt me" will give them something to think about. In the end, the point is to get as many people as possible to join these protests. This rhetoric, in this respect, is, in my opinion, counter-productive.
And now I would like to address you, the reader. I think that if a million people took to the streets for a month, Kaczyński would withdraw the changes to the family planning act, and two million in a month would wipe his government off the face of the earth. However, that will not happen, because you are sitting at home. Perhaps I am wrong, because you are already elderly and should not leave the house, or on the contrary - you are a frequent participant in these marches. If so, then I apologize for the hasty accusation.
