Polish activists launch abortion pill locker to bypass near-total ban

They call it the “world’s first parcel locker for abortion pills”. Polish campaigners have launched a new means of distribution as part of their ongoing effort to skirt the country’s near-total ban on abortion.The locker sits inside the abortion centre that was opened in March last year by the Abortion Dream Team. Photograph: Martyna AdamskaPainted pink and framed by zebra-striped curtains, the 22-compartment “AbortOmat” in Warsaw allows women to access the pills swiftly and anonymously using a six-digit code. The service was envisaged for those who cannot or do not want to wait days for mail delivery due to a missed miscarriage or health complications, or who worry about receiving the pills at home.“And why not?” said Kinga Jelinska, the director of the Women Help Women foundation and co-founder of the Abortion Dream Team, the two groups behind this week’s launch.“You can order underwear, cosmetics, mascara, whatever and receive it practically the same or next day,” she said. “Why not abortion pills, where in some cases there might be more urgency?”The innovation comes six years after people across Poland took to the streets to protest against the tightening of abortion laws that already ranked among the strictest in Europe, setting off the country’s largest demonstrations since the fall of communism. In 2023, the protests were credited with helping to propel Donald Tusk, and his promises to overhaul the laws within 100 days, into power.Since then, political stagnation has set in, said Jelinska, citing comments made last year by Tusk in which the prime minister said there was “simply no majority” to change the laws to allow abortions until the 12th week of pregnancy. Tusk instead hinted that his government was intent on doing things differently, telling reporters that it would not prosecute those who helped to facilitate abortions.While the possession or ingestion of abortion pills is not outlawed in Poland, provision of the medication or helping someone to obtain it is considered a crime punishable by up to three years in prison.Protests against the tightening of abortion laws, Oct 2020 in Warsaw. Photograph: Omar Marques/Getty ImagesThe locker offers a novel way to challenge these restrictions, said Jelinska. “It’s a little bit of a hack on the law,” she said. “The law is about directly giving to someone. So here we have a machine in between, which makes the legality of everything much more vague.”The locker sits inside the abortion centre that was opened in March 2025 by the Abortion Dream Team. Described as the first of its kind in democratic Poland, it offers a safe space for people to consult on abortion options or receive support while they take the pill.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionSymbolically located across the street from the Polish parliament, the centre has allowed campaigners to shine a spotlight on the continued need for abortion access in Poland while also providing services to a wide array of people, said Jelinska. “It has exceeded our expectations.”But it had also laid bare how few in power were willing to stand up for them, she said. “The one thing that has surprised us, and it speaks to the political situation, is that there are protests in front of the centre; three, sometimes four times a week.”While usually less than a dozen people turn up, the protesters regularly use sirens and vuvuzelas to make their point, leaving campaigners worried that the noise levels would eventually result in neighbours asking the centre to relocate. “Neither the city or the police have reacted. So that has been a big disappointment to us,” said Jelinska.It was a glimpse of how these organisations had increasingly felt abandoned by politicians, even as about 50,000 people in Poland contacted the wider network of pro-choice organisations last year seeking help, said Jelinska. “I think in Poland, abortion access won’t be solved by politics but by women and communities,” she said. “We cannot trust politicians with our own bodies.”