Church weighs in on Poland IVF debate

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Poland’s parliament is considering several proposals related to in-vitro fertilization, or IVF. The Catholic Church has entered the debate and voiced its opposition to the procedure. Amy Drozdowska reports that the debate is part of a larger discussion in Poland, about how much influence the Church should have there. Download MP3

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LISA MULLINS: Millions of people owe their lives to in-vitro fertilization, or IVF. The process involves the fertilization of an egg by a sperm outside the body. In Poland, the parliament is considering several proposals related to in-vitro fertilization. The Catholic Church has entered the debate in opposition to IVF. Catholic leaders say it’s morally akin to eugenics and abortion. Others say IVF brings hope to childless couples. For more thought, Amy Drozdowska reports the debate is part of a larger discussion about how much influence the church should have in politics.

AMY DROZDOWSKA:  IVF is technically legal in Poland, but it’s expensive and controversial. Six different bills, introduced last week, range from making IVF free under the National Health Service, to making it a felony. The church is expressing its opinion on the issue, and loudly. The debate caught fire recently, when a Catholic bishop said in a newspaper interview that any lawmakers who support IVF will “find themselves outside of the church.” Many interpreted that as a not-so-subtle threat of excommunication. And after mass this past Sunday, a priest in the southern Polish city of Tarnow read aloud a list of local politicians and their stances on IVF. The church’s recent pronouncements have touched off a national debate on church influence in politics.

MIKOLAJ CZESNIK:  It was not done by accident. It was done for purpose.

DROZDOWSKA: Mikolaj Czesnik is a political scientist in Warsaw.

CZESNIK: It means that the Bishops expect this speech and this message to have an impact.

DROZDOWSKA: And that’s what’s caused all the fuss here in Poland. One liberal politician has gone so far as to accuse the church of using an “Islamic style” of pressure on the government. But not everybody agrees that just because the church is speaking out forcefully on a sensitive issue, that it’s out of balance. Szymon Holownia is a prominent Catholic commentator. He says the church can say what it wants. It doesn’t have any particular influence over lawmaking.

SPEAKING POLISH

SZYMON HOLOWNIA: Here in Poland we have a frightening amount of emotion about things that are completely straightforward. The Church voices their opinion, politicians make their own decisions. It’s all very clear. What the politicians do is their own affair and they have their own responsibility to their constituents.

DROZDOWSKA: There’s plenty of historical precedence in Poland of church leaders trying to influence politics. Poland considers itself a Catholic country much like Italy, meaning that it’s been completely natural for the church to play a role in lawmaking. The Catholic Church was highly praised for its role in the Solidarity movement against Communism. Again, political scientist Mikolaj Czesnik.

CZESNIK: I would say for majority of Polish citizens, the activity of bishops is something quite normal. But it is changing. I would say that for younger people, it can be a problem.

DROZDOWSKA:  It’s definitely a problem for people here at a club in Warsaw’s scenic Old Town. A group of thirty young people are meeting to plan a protest at the bishop of Warsaw’s residence. They sit on couches, sipping local beer and coming up with strategies to get the most attention. Kasia Stawczik is a 24-year-old student. She’ll be part of a string of demonstrations across the country.

SPEAKING POLISH

KASIA STAWCZIK: As far as I’m concerned, what the church is doing is blackmail. It can’t be this way, that the church is the one making the decisions about our most important issues. Because if we allow that, we’ll be returning to the Middle Ages. Either the church changes together with us and catches up with the spirit of the times, or at some point really, there will be a complete religious war.

DROZDOWSKA: Catholic commentator Szymon Holownia says for him, the words of this younger generation feel unusually sharp. In the 20-year history of a free Poland, he says, the church has never been criticized in such aggressive language. Political scientist Czesnik is also struck by this new, more critical tone. And he says, it highlights the church’s declining role in public policy.

CZESNIK: The polls are more important than the voice of the bishops, but still this voice is very important, especially for the two major parties which are all in all right wing parties and they care about what the bishops say.

DROZDOWSKA: A recent survey says that 60% of Poles support IVF for couples who can’t conceive naturally, so in the end politicians may find political considerations more persuasive than spiritual ones. For the World, this is Amy Drozdowska in Warsaw.

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