Current:Home > FinancePoland's parliament backs easing of abortion laws, among the strictest in Europe-LoTradeCoin
Poland's parliament backs easing of abortion laws, among the strictest in Europe
View Date:2024-12-23 21:32:45
Lawmakers in Poland have voted in favor of measures to ease the country's near-total ban on abortion, setting the stage for a potential clash over women's rights with the country's conservative president. With their vote on Friday, parliamentarians endorsed several proposals to relax the abortion restrictions, including one from newly elected Prime Minister Donald Tusk's party to decriminalize abortions up to 12 weeks into a pregnancy.
The proposals, however, are likely to face opposition from President Andrzej Duda, who is aligned with the staunchly conservative Law and Justice Party, known by its Polish initials PiS.
Poland's current abortion law, introduced in 2020 by a PiS-backed court, is widely regarded as one of the strictest in Europe. It allows for abortions only in very limited circumstances. Even in cases of severe fetal abnormalities or rape, abortion is not permitted under the current law.
Punishment for having the procedure can vary depending on the circumstances, but even helping someone obtain an abortion in Poland or promoting the procedure carries a potential penalty of up to three years in prison.
Several expectant mothers have died of complications in recent years after doctors refused to terminate their pregnancies, fearing prosecution.
Two of the proposed bills backed by lawmakers on Friday aim to decriminalize abortions up to the 12th week of pregnancy, while another focuses on decriminalizing abortion altogether.
Despite campaign promises from Tusk to liberalize Poland's abortion laws, his government is now grappling with the extent of the changes it feels it can back. The issue has shown deep divisions within Polish society, with some advocating for greater reproductive freedoms while others staunchly opposing any loosening of the current restrictions.
The president of the parliament, Szymon Holownia, has proposed holding a national referendum on the issue. A referendum result backing an easing of the restrictions would heap more pressure on Duda, who has so far vetoed any attempt to amend the existing laws that were pushed through by his political allies.
A November 2022 survey in Polan found that 70% of respondents supported legal abortions up to the 12th week of pregnancy, indicating widespread public support for an easing of the current laws.
The measures voted on Friday were not pieces of actual legislation, just proposals on which future bills could be based. But along with the public opinion polls and moderate Prime Minister Tusk's December election win over incumbent Mateusz Morawiecki, a right-wing nationalist of the PiS party, it hints at a wider shift in attitudes in what has emerged over the last decade to be one of Europe's most conservative-leaning nations.
- In:
- Women's Health
- Abortion Pill
- Abortion
- European Union
- Poland
Anna Noryskiewicz is a CBS News journalist based in Berlin, Germany, who covers politics, conflict and crime in Europe and beyond. Anna worked previously for a range of global outlets including BBC News, NPR and Al Jazeera. She speaks five languages, including Mandarin, German, Polish and Russian.
Twitter InstagramveryGood! (4)
Related
- Benny Blanco Reveals Selena Gomez's Rented Out Botanical Garden for Lavish Date Night
- Kate Spade's Limited-Time Clearance Sale Has Chic Summer Bags, Wallets, Jewelry & More
- Ezra Miller Makes Rare Public Appearance at The Flash Premiere After Controversies
- Real estate, real wages, real supply chain madness
- Supreme Court seems likely to allow class action to proceed against tech company Nvidia
- Connecticut state Rep. Maryam Khan details violent attack: I thought I was going to die
- Kate Spade 24-Hour Flash Deal: Get This $260 Crossbody Bag for Just $59
- Close Coal Plants, Save Money: That’s an Indiana Utility’s Plan. The Coal Industry Wants to Stop It.
- Birth control and abortion pill requests have surged since Trump won the election
- Pat Sajak Leaving Wheel of Fortune After 40 Years
Ranking
- Wildfire map: Thousands of acres burn near New Jersey-New York border; 1 firefighter dead
- Starbucks workers plan a 3-day walkout at 100 U.S. stores in a unionization effort
- Entrepreneurs Built Iowa’s Solar Economy. A Utility’s Push for Solar Fees Could Shut Them Down.
- Europe Seeks Solutions as it Grapples With Catastrophic Wildfires
- NFL coaches diversity report 2024: Gains at head coach, setbacks at offensive coordinator
- New York bans pet stores from selling cats, dogs and rabbits
- RHONJ: Teresa Giudice and Joe Gorga Share Final Words Before Vowing to Never Speak Again
- Spam call bounty hunter
Recommendation
-
Benny Blanco Reveals Selena Gomez's Rented Out Botanical Garden for Lavish Date Night
-
Need an apartment? Prepare to fight it out with many other renters
-
A Federal Court Delivers a Victory for Sioux Tribe, Another Blow for the Dakota Access Pipeline
-
Super-Polluting Methane Emissions Twice Federal Estimates in Permian Basin, Study Finds
-
Catholic bishops urged to boldly share church teachings — even unpopular ones
-
Warming Trends: A Facebook Plan to Debunk Climate Myths, ‘Meltdown’ and a Sad Yeti
-
Why Is Texas Allocating Funds For Reducing Air Emissions to Widening Highways?
-
Twitter suspends several journalists who shared information about Musk's jet