03/02/2021 (Agence Europe) – Four political groupings of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe issued a Joint Declaration on Wednesday denouncing the attempts of the Polish Constitutional Court to de facto ban abortion in Poland. MEPs from the Socialist (SOC) and Green groups, the Alliance for Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) and the Group of the Unified European Left (UEL) condemn “a decision in direct opposition with good medical practice, international human rights, and WHO recommendations”. They see this as “a consequence of the erosion of the democratic institutions in the country, including unlawful appointment of judges to the Constitutional Tribunal”, demand that Poland “respect the fundamental rights of all Poles to make autonomous decisions about their own bodies and reproductive abilities”, refraining “from adopting the judgment of the institution internationally recognised as unlawfully adopted”. (VL)