Poland has one of the strictest abortion laws in Europe. The new government wants to change that: in the first reading, Parliament voted for liberalization. But the coalition partners still have to agree on a precise regulation.
Poland’s parliament has spoken out in favor of liberalizing abortion rights. The majority of MPs from Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s center-left coalition voted in the first reading to have four relevant bills examined by a special committee.
Poland currently has one of the strictest abortion regulations in Europe. In 2020, the Constitutional Court under the then national-conservative PiS government further tightened the already restrictive abortion law.
Since then, abortion has only been permitted after rape or incest – or if the pregnant woman’s life is in danger. If the unborn child has severe malformations, women are not allowed to have an abortion.
Different Ideas in the coalition
The three coalition partners in Tusk’s government agree that the abortion law needs to be relaxed. However, there is disagreement about how far this should go. The bill from Tusk’s liberal-conservative Citizens Coalition party provides for the legalization of abortions up to the twelfth week of pregnancy. The left-wing alliance Lewica is calling for the same thing in its own amendment, but wants to implement impunity in another bill.
The Christian conservative Third Way party proposes a return to the so-called compromise solution, which was in effect until the Constitutional Court’s ruling. This would mean that abortions in Poland would only become legal after a crime or if there was a risk to the pregnant woman and the fetus. Now the special committee should try to bring the positions for a bill supported by everyone to a common denominator.
President Duda could block law
Tusk’s pro-European alliance won last October’s elections on the promise, among other things, of liberalizing abortion rights. “We keep our word! Parliament will push forward all projects on the right to abortion,” said Prime Minister Tusk’s Civic Platform after the vote in online networks.
But even after parliament finally approves an abortion law, Poland’s President Andrzej Duda could still veto the liberalization and not sign the law. The conservative Catholic comes from the ranks of the national conservative PiS, which severely restricted the right to abortion during its time in government.
Estimates: 120,000 clandestine abortions annually
According to a survey, 35 percent of Poles are in favor of legalizing abortions up to the twelfth week of pregnancy. However, 14 percent of those surveyed are in favor of maintaining the current rules. Abortion opponents are mobilizing across the country against abortion law reform. They are supported by the Catholic Church.
According to the Ministry of Health, only 161 abortions were performed in Polish hospitals in 2022. However, many Polish women have abortions with the help of medication that they have sent by post from abroad. Groups that help them estimate the number of terminated pregnancies in Poland at around 120,000 per year.