Presidential candidate MEP Grzegorz Braun and MP Roman Fritz arrived at the hospital in Oleśnica on Wednesday to intervene in abortions taking place at the facility. Both politicians belong to the Catholic, monarchist Confederation of the Polish Crown. The prosecutor’s office responded by announcing proceedings against both men, writes Do Rzeczy.
Braun reportedly broke into the ward and locked himself in the administrative room with gynecologist Gizela Jagielska, deputy director of the facility, who oversaw an abortion of a boy in his 37th week of prenatal life, nearly at the full-term of birth at nine months. He has posted a video of the incident, but X has blocked it from being embedded in articles.
The media reports indicate that the Dr. Jagielska used a method involving injecting potassium chloride into the fetus’s heart, which results in cardiac arrest.
The case has led to a shockwave on social media and amongst pro-life activists in Poland, due to the death of the child so close to the due date. Organizations and public figures are demanding more details about the case and the procedure, with some raising questions about how legal the procedure actually was. Some are also calling for the arrest of the doctor involved.
Kaja Godek, a member of the Management Board of the Life and Family Foundation, praised Braun, writing: “Gizela Jagielska locked in her room at the disposal of the Police and Prosecutor’s Office. This is how abortionists end up! The parliamentary intervention of @GrzegorzBraun_ and @Roman_Korona is ongoing, with the participation of members @KoronaMlodych and pro-lifers of the Life and Family Foundation @ratujzycie_pl_ – always on the front line!”
There was reportedly a struggle inside the hospital, but it is unclear if Braun was involved. The politician accused the doctor of violating his inviolability and the police officers for not performing their duties. He called the Police Headquarters and Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration Tomasz Siemoniak, but in the end, left for a meeting with voters in Nowy Sącz.
Minister of Justice Adam Bodnar commented on the matter on X: “The behavior of MEP Braun in the hospital in Oleśnica exceeds all ethical and perhaps legal boundaries. In such situations, the prosecutor’s office must react quickly and decisively.”
“The preparatory proceedings were initiated by the District Prosecutor’s Office in Oleśnica,” he added.
Karolina Stocka-Mycek, spokeswoman for the District Prosecutor’s Office in Wrocław, also stated: “On April 16, 2025, proceedings were registered at the District Prosecutor’s Office in Oleśnica concerning an act under Art. 189 § 1 of the Penal Code.”
“In connection with media reports and information provided by the police regarding the incident that took place today at the District Hospital Complex in Oleśnica, the District Prosecutor’s Office has registered proceedings concerning the deprivation of liberty of gynecologist Gizela J. by preventing her from leaving her office and performing her professional duties at the Gynecology and Obstetrics Ward for a period of almost an hour,” reads the prosecutor’s office in a statement.
Stocka-Mycek emphasises that “the subject of these proceedings is also to clarify whether the physical integrity of the doctor was violated or insulted during the incident.”
Braun is well known for his anti-Semitic act in 2023, in which he dramatically put out Chanukah candles in the Polish parliament with a fire extinguisher. And in March, he was barred from taking part in plenary sessions of the European Parliament until October after disrupting a minute of silence for Holocaust victims.
