The Abortomat: The world's first parcel-locker machine for abortion pills opens steps from Poland's Parliament.

On September 29 at 10:00 a.m., Women Help Women (WHW) unveils the Abortomat, the world's first parcel-locker system built specifically to dispense abortion pills directly into the hands of the people who need them. Located inside ABOTAK, Poland's first abortion clinic, at Wiejska 9 — directly across from the Polish Parliament.

There is no waiting room, no gatekeeper, and no explanation needed. Easy, simple and close to you.

Why now?

Poland has some of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe, and the people who help others access care are harassed and criminalized.

In 2023, activist Justyna Wydrzyńska was convicted for sending abortion pills to a woman trapped in an abusive relationship — the first such conviction of an activist.

For those who try to go through official channels, the obstacles are relentless. People are bounced between providers, billed for services that should be accessible, told to wait, billed again, and frequently turned away regardless. This isn't a glitch in the system. It is the system. Delay, cost, and shame are the mechanism, not the byproduct.

The Abortomat refuses to play by those rules. It stays open when everything else is closed, built for the moments that cannot wait: a missed miscarriage, an incomplete abortion, a pregnancy complication, or a person trapped at home with an abuser who controls their access to a phone, a car, or a mailbox.

Who we are?

Women Help Women (WHW) and Abortion Dream Team (ADT) have spent more than a decade building Poland's abortion access infrastructure from the ground up. Together, their networks now support an estimated 130 abortions per day, the overwhelming majority through abortion medication — making them one of the most active abortion-access operations in Europe.

But WHW's mission goes further than access alone: it is about dragging abortion care out of the 20th century. While technology, communication, and daily life have transformed dramatically, most healthcare systems still treat abortion care as if it were frozen in the 1980s.

That gap is exactly what Feminist Abotech, WHW's innovation initiative, exists to close. Feminist Abotech reimagines abortion care as simpler, safer, and free from the control of corporations and governments — building tools that reflect how people actually live, decide, and care for one another: effective, discreet, portable, autonomous, and community-driven. The Abortomat is one of Feminist Abotech's flagship creations: a fully self-built, DIY machine designed to put abortion care literally into people's hands — and finally, into the 21st century.

Key Messages

1. We provide abortion care that people actually need. Real people, real needs, practical solutions. No talking points, no theater: just a practical answer to a need the system refuses to meet.
2. The Abortomat is very real, it is not a performance. The Abortomat is a fully functional parcel locker. You press a button, and it dispenses abortion medicines. That's it. No metaphors, no performance, no stunts. A door that opens when every other one is slammed shut.
3. Abortion care is stuck decades in the past. It's time it caught up. Mifepristone and misoprostol have been in use since the 1980s — nearly 40 years ago. Since then, we've reinvented how we order food, hail a ride, and manage our health — but in most healthcare systems, abortion care still runs on the same rigid, clinic-bound model designed before the internet existed. The Abortomat is what abortion care looks like when it's built for how people actually live now.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this legal?

The Abortomat was built to meet an urgent, unmet need within Poland's current legal reality. We work closely with legal experts to ensure our approach protects the people we serve. What's certain is this: the real risk in Poland isn't a parcel locker, it's the system that forces people to wait, travel, or go without care at all. Our focus is on the people who need help now and that are left behind by the current system.

What if someone has a complication after taking the pills?

Self-managed medical abortion using mifepristone and misoprostol is recognized by the World Health Organization as safe and effective, including outside of a clinical setting. Every package comes in tandem with clear instructions, and support is available through our online care team before, during, and after the process so no one has to navigate this alone.

Who can use the Abortomat? Is it only for people in Poland?

There's no nationality requirement or residency check, just the ability to get to Wiejska 9 in Warsaw. Beyond that, Women Help Women's telehealth care team reaches far beyond Warsaw, providing abortion medicines and support by mail to people in many places around the world, regardless of where they're from.

How is this different from ordering pills online?

Online care can take couple of days to arrive by mail. The Abortomat exists for people who cannot wait even couple of days, such as those with urgent medical needs (missed miscarriage, incomplete abortion, complications) or those in unsafe or controlling home situations where a mailed package isn't a safe option.

Why put it right across from Parliament?

Because that's exactly where this decision belongs. Not buried, not apologized for, but visible. Wiejska 9 sits across from the people who have spent years restricting this care. The Abortomat is a statement that people will not wait for permission that isn't coming.

More photos

You can download more photos (94 MB) of Abortomat by WHW and ABOTAK © 2026 by Martyna Adamska under CC BY 4.0.