Parliament rejects bill softening Poland’s abortion law after split in ruling coalition

Parliament has rejected a bill that would have softened Poland’s strict abortion laws. While the measure was supported by the majority of the governing coalition, it was defeated thanks to the most conservative element of the ruling camp, which joined with the opposition to vote against it.

The legislation would have decriminalised the act of helping a woman obtain an unlawful abortion up to the 12th week of pregnancy. Under the current law, someone can be jailed for up to three years for doing so.

It was proposed last year by Lewica (The Left), which is part of Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s ruling coalition. Tusk himself announced yesterday that his centrist Civic Platform (PO), the largest member of the coalition, would vote in favour.

However, almost the entire caucus of the Polish People’s Party (PSL), the most conservative element of the government, voted against the bill today.

How MPs from parliamentary groups voted on the bill decriminalising abortion assistance (za = for, przeciw = against, wstrzymało się = abstained, nie głosowało = did not vote)

PSL’s 24 votes, combined with 175 from the national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, 17 from the far-right Confederation (Konfederacja) and two from the right-wing Kukiz’15 – all three of which are opposition parties – meant there were 218 MPs against the bill.

Only 215 MPs were in favour, with 154 from KO, 30 from the centrist Poland 2050 (Polska 2050), another member of the ruling coalition, 26 from the Left, four from PSL, and one independent.

Earlier this week, President Andrzej Duda, a conservative PiS ally, had declared that he would veto the bill even if it was passed by parliament.

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The result of the vote was met with a standing ovation from the PiS benches. “Life and the constitution won,” declared PiS MP Bartłomiej Wróblewski.

“The most vulgar attempt to violate the Constitution since 1989, depriving children before birth of legal protection, was defeated in the Sejm,” he added.

Anna-Maria Żukowska of The Left, who initially proposed the bill, criticised her coalition partners for its failure. She noted that three PO MPs and two from Poland 2050 had not taken part in the vote. Had they supported the bill, it would have passed.

“Oops, Donald Tusk’s and the coalition seem to have a problem,” wrote PiS spokesman Rafał Bochenek. “They promised and wanted to decriminalise criminal activities, but fortunately there is still SPIRIT IN THE NATION.”

❗️UPADŁ projekt dot. depenalizacji pomocy w aborcji. PiS świętuje, aktywistki zawiedzione. Na gorąco w Sejmu. @wirtualnapolska pic.twitter.com/wWDHJTkHDi

— Patryk Michalski (@patrykmichalski) July 12, 2024

Today’s bill was the first of four intended to soften abortion laws that were given preliminary approval by the Sejm in April. The other three, which are still being discussed by a specially created parliamentary committee, would end the near-total abortion ban introduced under PiS in 2021.

However, the future of those bills is also shrouded in doubt. Two of them – proposed by KO and The Left – would introduce abortion on demand, something that is opposed by PSL.

The other, proposed by PSL and Poland 2050, would reintroduce the possibility of terminating pregnancy in case of severe birth defects, which was banned in 2021. Currently, abortion in Poland is only possible if the pregnancy threatens the life or health of the mother or if it results from a criminal act such as rape or incest.

There are doubts in particular over whether the Left would support that latter bill, as it argues that such a “compromise” does not go far enough in protecting women’s reproductive rights.

Meanwhile, any bill that is passed by parliament faces a potential veto by Duda – those current and final term in office finishes in the middle of next year – and also could be overturned by the constitutional court, which introduced the current near-total abortion ban and remains stacked with PiS-appointed judges.

Conservative President @AndrzejDuda has vowed to veto a bill softening Poland’s abortion laws proposed by the more liberal governing coalition.

„For me, abortion is the killing of people,” says Duda.

A vote on the abortion bill is scheduled for Friday https://t.co/5vam704uVW

— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) July 10, 2024

Main image credit: Slawomir Kaminski / 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.