There is no abortion ban in Poland, says Kaczyński. Women “can arrange abortions abroad”

Poland’s most powerful politician has denied that there is a ban on abortion in Poland. He notes that terminations are still permitted in certain circumstances, and adds that it is not expensive or difficult for Polish women to go abroad to obtain abortions in other cases.

In two new interviews for the Wprost and Sieci weeklies, Jarosław Kaczyński, chairman of the ruling national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, also discussed the government’s new economic programme, the prospects for his fraying coalition, and the fallout from last year’s abandoned postal elections.

Abortion

“It is nonsense to say that abortion is prohibited,” Kaczyński told Wprost. “It is still permissible if the pregnancy [results from] a crime or if it endangers the woman’s life or health. It is only about [foetuses diagnosed with] Down or Turner syndromes where the possibility of abortion has been removed.”

“I also know there are advertisements in the press that any person of average intelligence understands and can arrange such an abortion abroad, cheaply or expensively,” continued Kaczyński. “In my opinion, nothing threatening women’s interests has occurred.”

The remarks show Kaczyński’s “cynicism”, a leading opposition figure, Radosław Sikorski, told TVN24. He pushes for abortion restrictions “to please the church”, but then tells women “it doesn’t count abroad, do what you want”, said Sikorski.

In a ruling issued last October, and which went into force in January, the constitutional court ruled that abortions due to birth defects, which previously made up around 98% of legal terminations, are unconstitutional. The decision, which is opposed by most of the public, sparked the biggest protests in Poland’s post-communist history.

When Wprost pointed out to Kaczyński that abortions are now also forbidden in cases where foetuses have lethal defects, not just conditions such as Down syndrome, the PiS chairman appeared to deny it.

“Among the options for allowing abortion is mental health” and women can “make use of this”, he said. However, doctors and women’s rights groups report that this loophole – by which a woman can obtain an abortion if a pregnancy threatens her mental health – is very difficult to implement in practice.

In 2016, Kaczyński declared that he would “strive to ensure that even very difficult pregnancies, when the child is condemned to death, is severely deformed, will end in birth, so that the child can be christened, buried, given a name”.

Earlier this month, it emerged that the Polish embassy in Prague had requested that the Czech government intervene to prevent legislation that would make it easier for women from Poland to obtain abortions in the neighbouring country.

The future of the ruling coalition and last year’s postal elections

Kaczyński was also asked about the future of the United Right (Zjednoczona Prawica) coalition made up of his PiS party and junior partners Agreement (Porozumienie) and United Poland (Solidarna Polska). The last year has seen growing tensions between the three allies.

“I would like PiS…to win the [next parliamentary] elections on its own in 2023, but unfortunately I am afraid that it will be similar to 2019”, when PiS was part of the coalition, Kaczyński told Sieci. “The elimination of the coalition partners makes no sense.”

The PiS chairman did, however, confirm rumours that he was seeking to widen the current ruling camp by attracting MPs from other parties. This has included “hundreds of hours” of meetings with Paweł Kukiz, who heads a small caucus of four MPs.

Kaczyński also criticised Agreement’s leader, Jarosław Gowin, for rebelling against PiS last year by opposing the organisation of presidential elections by post amid the pandemic. “Gowin’s behaviour at that time was inappropriate,” Kaczyński told Wprost.

A Warsaw court later ruled that the PiS prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, had committed a “gross violation of the law” in trying to organise that postal vote without the relevant legislation being passed. The state audit office, NIK, made the same accusation this month.

The PiS chairman, however, defended his party colleague. “It may not look good, but for the public good it had to be done,” Kaczyński told Wprost. “I believe that the prime minister behaved like a man…and signed the relevant regulations.”

“The government [tried to] fulfil its constitutional obligation [to hold elections] and everything possible was done for it to happen,” he said to Sieci. “Because we really respect the law and the constitution. It is a great misconception to talk about some kind of breaking of the law or abuse here.”

The “Polish Deal”

Kaczyński also praised the government’s recently unveiled economic package for post-pandemic recovery, the so-called “Polish Deal”. He told Wprost that it will give Poland “a chance to reach the European average GDP by the end of this decade”.

The PiS chairman again offered his support to Morawiecki, whose position has come into question in recent months amid rumours that Zbigniew Ziobro, the justice minister and leader of United Poland, is attempting to undermine his position.

“The [economic] development of the country under our rule is a fact,” Kaczyński said to Sieci. “The prime minister and his entourage, despite having some flaws, have contributed greatly to this.”

Kaczyński also joined Morawiecki in condemning those who have criticised the Polish Deal for increasing taxes on the wealthy. “Defenders of the current unfair tax [system] are not defending the free market, but privileges for certain groups,” he told Sieci. “We have the courage to change that….ensuring that the rules are equal for everyone.”

Main image credit: Adam Stepien / Agencja Gazeta

Daniel Tilles

Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.