Under the PiS government, the right to abortion in Poland was massively restricted. Prime Minister Tusk wants to change that again. The “morning after pill” should also be available without a prescription. Parliament must approve the plans.
Poland’s new Prime Minister Donald Tusk wants to loosen abortion rights. “We are ready to introduce a bill for legal and safe abortions up to the twelfth week of pregnancy into parliament in the coming hours,” Tusk told reporters in Warsaw.
The amendment to the law is the proposal of his party’s faction, the liberal-conservative citizens’ coalition. Tusk’s center-left government includes two other parties, the left-wing Lewica alliance and the Christian-conservative Third Way. “As you know, there are different views within the coalition on this issue (abortion),” Tusk said.
Another bill aims to make the morning-after pill easier to access. Women and girls aged 15 and over should be able to receive them without a prescription in the future.
Tightening measures triggered massive protests in 2020
Polish abortion law is so far more restrictive than almost anywhere else in Europe. Abortions are only permitted in cases of rape or incest, or when the mother’s life is in danger. The national conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, which ruled until Tusk took office in December, also introduced a prescription requirement for the morning-after pill in 2017.
After the Supreme Court ruled on a near-total ban on abortion in 2020, thousands protested across the country. Since then, numerous people have repeatedly taken to the streets against the abortion law.
Parliament still has to agree
The left-liberal and pro-European camp had already promised during the election campaign to liberalize abortion rights. After their election victory in October, Tusk and his coalition partners included the planned reform in their coalition agreement.
After being passed by parliament, Poland’s President Andrzej Duda, who is close to the PiS party, still has to bring the new laws into force.