On July 17, 2025, a Polish court ruled that three doctors are guilty of endangering the life of a pregnant woman known as Izabela Sajbor, who died of sepsis in 2021 after pregnancy complications.
Key Takeaways:
Three doctors have been sentenced to prison time, fines, and professional bans after a Polish court found them guilty of negligence in the case of a pregnant woman who died as a result of sepsis.
The pro-abortion media has portrayed her death as the fault of the pro-life law, but Poland allows abortion for rape, incest, and when a woman’s life is at risk — as it was in this case.
Despite showing signs of sepsis, doctors failed to act quickly, and the woman died.
The court made clear in its decision that these doctors failed to act in accordance with the country’s law.
The Details:
One doctor, Andrzej P., was charged for involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to 18 months in prison and a six-year professional ban. Doctor Michał M., who was on duty when Sajbor was admitted, was handed 15 months in prison without parole and is prohibited from practicing for six years. Doctor Krzysztof P., who served as acting head of the hospital’s gynecology department, obtained a one-year suspended sentence, a four-year professional ban, a fine, and is mandated to issue a formal apology, Politico reported.
Pro-abortion news outlets, including Politico and Notes from Poland, have been quick to accuse Poland’s anti-abortion laws at that time for leading to the fatal outcome for the pregnant Sajbor and her preborn child.
Notes from Poland claimed that Izabela herself had written to her family before her death, blaming doctors “for waiting for the death of her fetus before removing it” because of Poland’s abortion laws. The outlet wrote:
Speaking to TVN, her mother claimed that, during the time the doctors waited for the death of the foetus, Izabela repeatedly informed them about her own symptoms, but no one was monitoring her state. She had her own thermometer and wrote to her mother that she had a 39.9°C fever and shivers.
Only when the heartbeat of the foetus stopped did the doctors perform a caesarean section, according to Izabela’s mother. But that came too late to save her daughter’s life, she says.
Sajbor, 22 weeks pregnant at the time, clearly had the signs of becoming septic and required immediate delivery, as her own life was at risk. But doctors inexplicably delayed administering proper care, despite the fact that the law allowed them to take action to deliver the baby and save Sajbor’s life.
But false narratives surrounding Sajbor’s death peddled by pro-abortion activists overlooked the reality of doctors’ negligence in her case. As pro-life legal think tank Ordo Iuris put forth in a statement posted on X (emphases added):
The court of first instance found the doctors who provided medical care to Izabela at the hospital in Pszczyna guilty.
Once again, the false narrative imposed on society by abortion activists, that Izabela’s death was caused by the laws protecting the lives of unborn children in force in Poland in 2021, has been debunked.
If the doctors had acted in accordance with the law (as amended by the Constitutional Tribunal’s 2020 ruling on abortion) and undertaken to save the woman’s life, as they were obliged to do, there would have been no grounds for their conviction. It’s that simple.
Let us recall that the disinformation efforts of the abortion community had and continue to have another specific goal: to “brainwash” Polish society into unthinkingly accepting the widespread legalization of abortion. As in Ireland.
And the same has been attempted in the United States, where pro-abortion propaganda outlets have published narrative after narrative in an attempt to blame pro-life state laws for similar delays in care — without comparing those incidents to similar ones in pro-abortion states.
Sajbor’s death was a result of medical negligence, noted the court, and was not due to Poland’s pro-life laws regarding abortion.
Reality Check:
For the record, Polish law does not stop doctors from acting to save a woman’s life. The current law explicitly permits abortion when the mother’s life or health is endangered, debunking the falsehood that Sajbor perished due to the country’s conservative stance on abortion.
Permitting a wider interpretation of abortion exceptions would risk allowing abortions for various non-life-threatening reasons, undermining efforts to save the lives of both mother and child in case of medical emergencies.
Poland recently elected a pro-life president, even as pro-abortion activists in the country flout its laws and push for the decriminalization and expansion of abortion.
The Bottom Line:
Izabela Sajbor’s tragic death showcases how repealing abortion laws meant to protect preborn lives is not the solution for medical emergencies.
Rather, timely and proper medical attention should be given to both pregnant women and their preborn children during medical emergencies.
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