Abortion pill dispensing machine opened in Warsaw — Balkan Insight
International support network Women Help Women has opened a dispensing machine for medical abortion pills in Warsaw, Poland, which the organization calls the first of its kind in the world. The device, called Abortomat, was installed inside the AboTak support clinic, which opened opposite the Polish parliament building in spring 2025, Balkan Insight reports.
Collection using a six-digit code
A person who contacts Women Help Women online receives a six-digit code after a consultation. It can be used to open one of the machine’s 22 compartments containing medication. According to Women Help Women director Kinga Jelińska, the device was developed by engineers and IT specialists on behalf of the organization and, unlike commercial parcel lockers, does not store users’ personal data.
Jelińska explained that the speed of obtaining the medication may be important for people whose health is at risk, as well as at later stages of pregnancy. At the end of 2025, more than 66,700 automated parcel lockers operated in Poland — approximately one for every 560 residents.
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Legal uncertainty
In Poland, abortion is legal when a pregnancy threatens a woman’s life or health, or resulted from a criminal offense. Assisting in terminating a pregnancy outside these circumstances may be punishable by up to three years in prison under Article 152 of the Criminal Code. At the same time, a person who terminates their own pregnancy does not bear criminal liability.
Abortion Dream Team activist Justyna Wydrzyńska said at the presentation that a person collecting the medication commits no crime and that the machine itself cannot be held liable. At the same time, criminal lawyer Paweł Matyja told Polish outlet Zero.pl that sending the medication, organizing its collection and providing the access code could collectively still be classified as assistance in an abortion.
For security reasons, Abortomat will currently operate indoors. Since AboTak opened, protests by abortion opponents have regularly taken place near its entrance. According to Balkan Insight, the premises have also been targeted in attacks involving butyric acid.
