logo
Poland Abortion
Dariusz Matecki, a conservative lawmaker in the Polish parliament, displays a poster showing a fetus and the words "10th week after conception," during a debate on liberalizing the abortion law , in Warsaw, Poland, on Thursday April 11, 2024. He also played the sound of a child's heartbeat through a microphone next to his chair. The traditionally Catholic nation has one of the most restrictive laws in Europe — but the reality is that many women terminate pregnancies at home with pills mailed from abroad. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Poland has a strict abortion law — and many abortions. Lawmakers are now tackling the legislation

Poland's parliament is finally holding a long-awaited debate on liberalizing the country's strict abortion law

By VANESSA GERA
Published - Apr 11, 2024, 01:13 AM ET
Last Updated - Apr 11, 2024, 01:13 AM EDT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s parliament is finally holding a long-awaited debate on liberalizing the country's strict abortion law. The traditionally Catholic nation has one of the most restrictive laws in Europe — but the reality is that many women terminate pregnancies at home with pills mailed from abroad.

Lawmakers in the lower house of parliament will consider four different proposals on Thursday. Currently abortion is regulated by a 1993 law, which was heavily influenced by the Catholic church, and further restricted following a 2020 constitutional court ruling preventing abortion in case of fetal abnormalities.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who came to power in December after eight years of a conservative government, has vowed to legalize abortion until the 12th week of pregnancy. He has said the decision is a woman's to make, not that of “a priest, a prosecutor or a party official.”

Many Tusk voters hoped lawmakers would have taken up the matter sooner. But conservatives in Tusk's three-party governing coalition pushed to keep the hot-button issue off the agenda until last weekend's local elections were over.

Our Offices
  • 10kInfo, Inc.
    13555 SE 36th St
    Bellevue, WA 98006
  • 10kInfo Data Solutions, Pvt Ltd.
    Claywork Create
    11 km, Arakere Bannerghatta Rd, Omkar Nagar, Arekere,
    Bengaluru, Karnataka 560076
4.2 12182024