Poland’s parliament has rejected a bill that would have liberalised the country’s abortion law – which is one of the strictest in Europe – by allowing terminations on demand up to 12 weeks of pregnancy.
A majority of 265 MPs in the 460-seat Sejm voted to reject the legislation. That included almost all members of the ruling national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party’s caucus, as well as the centre-right Polish Coalition (KP) and far-right Confederation (Konfederacja), both of which are in opposition.
Most of the 175 votes in favour of accepting the bill for further work following its first reading came from the centrist Civic Coalition (KO) and the Left (Lewica), the two largest opposition groups. The six MPs from Poland 2050 (Polska 2050), another centrist party, were split, with two voting to reject the bill and four to accept it.
The bill in question was submitted as a citizens’ initiative. That is a form of legislation that can be proposed by individuals or groups from outside parliament and must be considered by the Sejm if it attracts at least 100,000 public signatures in support.
In this case, the bill – which was backed by a number of women’s rights and pro-choice groups – had gathered over 200,000 signatures when it was submitted to parliament in March this year.
It proposed to allow women to obtain a state-funded abortion up to the 12th week of pregnancy without needing to provide any justification. Later-term abortions would be allowed if the pregnancy threatens the mother’s life or health or results from a criminal act such as rape, or if a severe birth defect is diagnosed.
That would mark a significant liberalisation of the current law. Under a near-total ban introduced at the start of last year, abortion is only permitted in two cases: if the pregnancy threatens the mother’s life or health, or if it results from a criminal act.
Previously, since 1993 abortion had also been allowed if a serious birth defect was diagnosed in the foetus. But those grounds for termination were removed as a result of a ruling by the constitutional court, a body widely seen as being under the influence of PiS.
As a result, the number of abortions carried out legally in Poland – already very low by international standards at around 1,000 per year – fell by 65% in the year after the court ruling was issued.
The proposed legislation to liberalise the abortion law would bring Poland into line with “European and world standards in the field of protecting women’s health and lives”, said Marta Lempart – Poland’s leading pro-choice activist – when presenting it to parliament, reports TVN24.
During the subsequent debate in the Sejm, PiS MP Anna Milczanowska declared that her party – despite previously pledging to support all citizens’ legislative initiatives on their first reading – would vote against the proposal because PiS values “the rights of every human being”, including those unborn.
While KO supported accepting the bill for further work, its MPs made clear that they wanted to subsequently introduce changes that would bring it closer to the group’s own proposals, which would allow abortion up to 12 weeks in the case of “extremely difficult personal situations” and “after consultation with a psychologist and doctor”.
Polling has consistently found that a large majority of the Polish public opposes the current near-total abortion ban, the introduction of which prompted the largest protests in Poland’s post-communist history. The latest such survey, published this week, found that 62% favour liberalisation.
However, the same polls also indicate that the largest proportion of the public wants a return to the law that existed before last year’s near-total ban, meaning termination being permitted only in three strictly defined circumstances and without abortion on demand.
Given that the PiS-led coalition has expressed strong support for the current law, it remains unlikely that any form of liberalisation will be introduced under the its rule. Today’s vote was the third time under PiS that citizens’ initiatives to introduce abortion on demand have been rejected.
Polling has consistently found a majority of Poles to be opposed to the near-total abortion ban introduced last year and in favour of either the previous status quo or even further liberalisation https://t.co/K0jcRLpzAL
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) June 21, 2022
Main image credit: Adam Stepien / Agencja Wyborcza.pl
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.
