Poland has become a place of refuge for millions of women fleeing war in Ukraine. It also has some of Europe’s most restrictive abortion laws, posing a major challenge to refugees with unwanted pregnancies. Some have survived rape, others simply cannot imagine taking on the responsibility of a child while their futures are so uncertain.

Reproductive rights don’t exist in a vacuum: They are inextricably linked to democratic institutions, with threats to one reinforcing threats to the other. As countries like Poland, Brazil, Hungary, and the United States face threats to their democracies, so do the women of those countries face threats to their reproductive rights.

Various countries have outlawed the practice—but the laws don’t seem to be working.