The mayor of Warsaw has sacked the Catholic head of a maternity hospital who refused on conscience grounds to abort a foetus with severe deformities.
Obstetrician Bogdan Chazan did not advise the mother of where she could get an abortion or that the legal gestational limit for the procedure was approaching.
So mayor Hanna Gronkiewicz fired him after a review of the case.
The baby was born with major brain and skull deformity and went into intensive care.
Pregnancies in Poland can be terminated before the 24th week if the foetus is in seriously poor health.
A doctor can refuse for reasons of conscience, but has a legal obligation to direct the patient to another doctor.
Cardinal Kazimierz Nycz said the sacking of Charan amounted to “dangerous precedent that hurt the rights not only of the Catholics, but of all people”.