If a problem exists, it should be diagnosed, but solutions should not come from a place of anger. A motion was filed to reject the bill at first reading, stated Confederation MP Grzegorz Braun during the Sejm debate on civil rights and the bill regarding in vitro refunds. Dorota Niedziela, deputy speaker of the House, apologized for the MP’s remarks.
The Sejm is currently considering the first reading of a citizens’ bill on in vitro reimbursement. During the discussion, Braun criticized the costs and claimed that people with no medical diploma might undergo the procedure for financial reasons rather than medical necessity.
I saw liquid nitrogen tanks storing leftovers as a byproduct of this selection process, Braun noted.
Braun’s questions
He also cited media reports.
From distant lands, a doctor who fathered forty-nine children allegedly used his own sperm in fertilization procedures. This scandal is described as a distant issue, with Braun noting that in Canada such cases have occurred, though he implied it is not a local problem.
Addressing the bill’s authors, he said: “You invite our compatriots, preying on their life dramas, into the vestibule of hell on this earth.”
The speaker suggested that Catholics, ordinary and honest citizens should be left alone and not asked to pay for what is being done elsewhere. Yet the issue has social dimensions, including questions about inheritance and wealth distribution, the Confederation MP stressed.
He emphasized that ordinary people want children, but there are “bad ways to satisfy this desire.”
If there is a problem, it should be diagnosed, not solved by questionable means. A motion to reject this bill at first reading was announced by Braun.
The Sejm is discussing a citizen project on in vitro reimbursement. Under the draft amendment to the Law on Publicly Funded Healthcare Services, the Minister of Health would develop and finance a health policy program for infertility treatment, which includes assisted reproductive procedures such as in vitro fertilization.
During the debate, Braun questioned where child rights and civil rights advocates were while the discussion unfolded.
What data exists, what numbers show how much of a human entity remains in the process, or in the material stored in thermoses in Białystok, and how long Poland will continue down this path?
He asked for statistics on how many pre-selected embryos are discarded and how many remain, not as a macabre display but as a matter of laboratory record. He questioned the leftover quantities in thermoses, containers, and among doctors and technicians who, in his view, prey on human vulnerability and the desire for offspring. He asked how much of this shares are left and for how long they will be stored.
He also inquired about the timeline for removing stored embryos and whether committees would oversee such removals.
– he emphasized.
Response from the citizen coalition
Dorota Niedziela, the chairwoman guiding the session, replied to the Confederation MP’s statements.
“Ladies and gentlemen, please allow me to thank you for this statement. First of all, Mr. MP, I live 18 kilometers from Oświęcim, be careful with your words,” she said.
Secondly, on behalf of herself and, she added, most of this House, she apologized for any remarks that may have offended parents and children. “I’m very sorry,” she added.
She also commented on Braun’s words, alongside MP Bartosz Arłukowicz of KO.
“I heard Braun talking nonsense about in vitro not being a treatment method. Do you already wear glasses? And this is the treatment method? We wear glasses, but we don’t allow people to have IVF. What wisdom,” Arłukowicz noted.
“Do you know what a Nobel Prize is? In 2010, Dr. (Robert) Edwards won the Nobel Prize specifically for the in vitro method, and in 2023 you question whether people should be allowed to pursue this. Shame and disgrace,” Arłukowicz added.
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Source: wPolityce