Polish lawmakers back easing the abortion ban — do they face a presidential veto?
Kyiv • UNN
Poland’s lower house backed abortion in cases of fetal abnormalities and the decriminalization of providing assistance. The president is likely to block the bill.
Poland's lower house of parliament voted to allow abortions in cases where fetal abnormalities are detected, as well as to decriminalize providing assistance in obtaining an abortion. In this way, lawmakers are attempting to repeal the near-total abortion ban introduced by the previous government, UNN reports, citing Reuters.
However, as the publication notes, the bill will almost certainly be blocked by the nationalist president's veto.
In Poland—a predominantly Catholic country—a near-total abortion ban was introduced in 2021 after the Constitutional Tribunal ruled that terminating a pregnancy due to fetal abnormalities was unconstitutional. The ban sparked mass protests.
The pro-European coalition led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk won the 2023 election, in part because of its promise to ease restrictions on abortion. The president has indicated that he will block any liberalization of legislation in this area.
"The reality is that these legislative acts are only a very limited reform and will not improve the situation for the majority of women in Poland who need access to abortion," Leah Hoctor, vice president for Europe at the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a comment to Reuters.
A separate bill is currently being considered by parliamentary committees that would legalize abortion at a woman's request up to 12 weeks of pregnancy.
Tusk's government has already taken steps to expand access to abortion within the framework of the current legislation, which allows pregnancy termination, in particular, on mental health grounds.
Under the current law, abortions are permitted only in cases of rape or incest, as well as when there is a threat to the woman's health or life.