Professor Siobhán Mullally:

Yes, there have been a number of other cases, in particular the legislative framework in Poland. After the ABC case, there were two further significant judgments of the court on Poland where it found violations not only of Article 8, the right to private life and family life but of Article 3, the prohibition on inhuman and degrading treatment.

In that context, the court took the view that the Polish authorities had not provided for an effective and accessible procedure to access abortion, which was lawful under domestic law in Poland. The particular circumstances of the cases included what the court described as deplorable treatment of an adult woman in one case. In another case a 14 year old girl, who had been a victim of rape, was described as being humiliated and not being given access to abortion that was lawful under domestic law in that context.