Polish lawmakers debate reforming strict abortion laws
Al Jazeera
Poland has some of the strictest abortion laws in the European Union.
Lawmakers in Poland have begun debating changes to the country’s harsh abortion laws that had grown more restrictive during eight years of conservative nationalist governments.
Liberalising access to abortion has been a central campaign promise of Prime Minister Donald Tusk and his Civic Coalition that emerged victorious in elections in October that saw a high turnout partly due to women’s rights issues.
The country has some of the strictest abortion laws in the European Union, only allowing a woman to have an abortion in cases where the pregnancy has resulted from rape or incest, or if it threatens the life or health of the mother.
Lawmakers are expected to debate multiple bills that have been put forward by coalition groups.
Somehave sought to make abortion legal without limitations until 12 weeks of pregnancy while one bill looks to reinstate the right to abortion in case of foetal abnormalities, which would effectively return Poland to the situation before 2020 – when a constitutional court ruling had banned such procedures – while keeping most current restrictions in place.
