The Polish parliament (Sejm) has passed four pro-abortion bills at first reading stage, from where they will go to commission stage. The bills significantly expand access to abortion.
Bills by the New Left would legalise abortion ‘on demand’ until the twelfth week of pregnancy, the same as the Irish 2018 abortion law. After this period, abortion would be available in the cases specified in the provision, such as a risk to the life or health of the pregnant woman, for Embryopathological reasons (i.e. pathological conditions and malformations like early development failure, development alterations and true malformative lesions), and when the pregnancy has occurred as a result of a prohibited act. Donald Tusk’s Civic Coalition also endorsed calls for unrestricted abortion until 12 weeks.
A Bill by the Third Way, a group within the Polish parliament, would provide that “abortion may be performed when „the results of examinations reveal a high probability of serious and irreversible defects of the foetus or an incurable disease threatening its life”. It is essentially rolling back on the pre-2020 status quo which provided for eugenic abortion.
Critics have argued that the bills fail to uphold Poland’s constitutional mandate to safeguard the legal rights of all individuals, irrespective of their health status or stage of growth (as stipulated in Article 38 of the Constitution). It’s important to highlight that the Polish Constitution prohibits any infringement on the right to life, even in times of conflict or crisis (as per Article 233(1-2). Moreover, these proposed laws are alleged to conflict with the established legal principles of the Constitutional Tribunal regarding the legality of abortion.
The Polish president, Andrzej Duda, is firmly pro-life and has committed to vetoing any pro-abortion bills which cross his desk. Thus, even if these bills pass all the way through parliament, it is likely President Duda will not sign them into law. However, his term of office expires next year, and he is ineligible due to term limits to seek the presidency in May 2025. It is unclear whether the next Polish president will share his commitment to the pro-life issue.
