A Polish teenage rape victim who was forced to travel over 300 miles to have a termination after being denied an abortion has been awarded compensation at Europe's highest court.
The European Court of Human Rights ruled Poland should now pay the teenager and her mother £49,999 (61,000 euros) in compensation.
The teen, who was just 14 when she was raped, was turned away from a hospital in Poland despite having permission to have an abortion under the country's strict laws.
She was then hounded by pro-life groups and forced to travel over 300 miles from Lublin, in East Poland, to Gdansk, north of the country, after her mother contacted the ministry of health.
In Poland women can access abortion in the pregnancy is a result of rape, incest or if the mother or foetus's life is in danger.
According to the BBC, a Roman Catholic priest tried to persuade the girl she should have a child and the hospital management issued a press release refusing to perform a termination.
The mother and daughter were then subject to "harassment" by pro-life campaigners and forced to travel across the country to access abortion.
The court said the girl had difficulty “in obtaining access to an abortion, in particular due to the lack of a clear legal framework, procrastination of medical staff and also as a result of harassment.”
The judge added: "Access to abortion was a subject of heated debate in Poland did not absolve the medical staff from their professional obligations regarding medical secrecy."