European rights body says abortion refusal complaints from Poland have ceased

WARSAW, March 12 - The number of legal abortions in Poland doubled in 2024, while complaints to the European Court of Human Rights over conscience clause refusals in the country have ceased, the Council of Europe said on Thursday. Read more at straitstimes.com.

WARSAW, March 12 - The number of legal abortions in Poland doubled in 2024, while complaints to the European Court of Human Rights over conscience clause refusals in the country have ceased, the Council of Europe said on Thursday.

Poland, a predominantly Catholic country, introduced a near-total abortion ban in 2021 under the previous nationalist government after pregnancy termination due to foetal abnormalities was ruled unconstitutional.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk's pro-European coalition won the 2023 election partly on the promise it would ease the restrictions, but it has so far failed to agree on a bill. Nationalist President Karol Nawrocki has signalled he will block any attempt at liberalisation.

However, Tusk's government has taken steps to enforce the existing law. Ministers issued recommendations to hospitals and prosecutors clarifying that abortion on the grounds of a woman's mental health is legal, and that all hospitals are obliged to provide the procedure.

The Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers, which oversees the implementation of European Court of Human Rights rulings, said on Thursday the government's actions "appear to bring results in practice."

"The number of lawful abortions has doubled year to year and no complaints have recently been received about the refusal of abortion based on the conscience clause", the committee said in its decision on Poland's compliance with judgments concerning access to legal abortion.