Polish government approves bill restoring prescription-free access to morning-after pill

Poland’s new government has approved a bill allowing the purchase of emergency contraception – the so-called morning-after pill – without a prescription.

That would reverse the decision made by the former conservative Law and Justice (PiS) government, which in 2017 made Poland one of only two EU countries – the other being Hungary – to require women to obtain a prescription from a doctor before receiving emergency contraception.

Restoring prescription-free access to the morning-after pill was one of the electoral promises made by the centrist Civic Coalition (KO), the largest group in the new ruling coalition that took power last month and which is led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

The policy has now also received the approval of KO’s coalition partners and the bill will pass to parliament, where the government has a majority. However, even if adopted by parliament, it could still potentially be vetoed by PiS-aligned President Andrzej Duda.

Announcing the government’s approval of the bill yesterday, Tusk said it would restore prescription-free access to one specific drug, EllaOne – a brand name for the ulipristal acetate – which works by preventing fertilisation if taken shortly after sexual intercourse, rather than by terminating a pregnancy.

“It is a method that prevents conception from taking place. So, it is not an early abortion pill. It is a pill that prevents pregnancy,” said Tusk during a press conference yesterday. His government wants over-the-counter access to EllaOne for those aged at least 15 (Poland’s age of sexual consent).

When the PiS government restricted access to to emergency contraceptives in 2017, the then health minister, Konstanty Radziwiłł, argued that they can have side effects and should only be administered under medical supervision.

He also said that he himself, being a medical doctor, would refuse to prescribe such pills, even to a rape victim, as it would violate his beliefs

However, women’s rights groups and the then commissioner for human rights,  Adam Bodnar (who is now justice minister in Tusk’s government), noted that, according to European Medicines Agency (EMA) assessments, taking EllaOne without medical supervision does not put patients at risk.

In addition, they argued that the imposition of an obligation to consult a doctor would, in practice, significantly reduce access to emergency contraception, which must be taken within a short period after intercourse to be effective.

They also pointed out that the so-called “conscience clause” that allows medics in Poland to refrain from providing medical services that are against their moral or religious beliefs could further limit women’s access to emergency contraception if a prescription was required.

In 2022, after seven years of PiS being in power, Poland was ranked as the worst country in Europe for contraception policies by the European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual and Reproductive Rights.

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Main image credit: Sophia Moss /Pexels

Alicja Ptak

Alicja Ptak is senior editor at Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She previously worked for Reuters.