The Sejm, which is the lower house of the Polish parliament, has appointed a special commission to consider bills related to abortion. This includes two projects authored by the Left, one by the Civic Coalition (KO), and one by the Third Way (TD). The latter is a collaboration between the Polish People’s Party (PSL) and Poland 2050.
On Friday, out of the 437 deputies who participated in the vote, 241 voted in favor of referring the projects to the special commission. There were 182 opposed, and 14 abstained.
The commission will be composed of 27 members, of whom 25 are women. It will include 11 representatives from PiS (Law and Justice), nine from KO (Civic Coalition), two each from Poland 2050-TD and PSL-TD (Polish People’s Party—Third Way), two from the Left, and one from the Confederation.
Sejm speaker Szymon Hołownia wrote that Polska (Poland) 2050 supported all projects related to abortion, motivated by “concern for the stability of the coalition.” However, this group believes that a referendum presents the best opportunity for change.
On Friday, immediately following the parliamentary votes on abortion, Hołownia posted on Portal X about the stance of Poland 2050.
“We promised enough quarrels, and we kept our word,” he wrote. “In Polska 2050, we believe that the greatest chance for change is given by a referendum, but we voted for all projects. We did this out of respect for democracy and concern for the stability of the coalition. Now we leave the fate of these laws in the hands of the committee members,” he concluded.
The commission will be composed of 27 members, of whom 25 are women. It will include 11 representatives from PiS (Law and Justice), nine from KO (Civic Coalition), two each from Poland 2050-TD and PSL-TD (Polish People’s Party—Third Way), two from the Left, and one from the Confederation.
Sejm speaker Szymon Hołownia wrote that Polska (Poland) 2050 supported all projects related to abortion, motivated by “concern for the stability of the coalition.” However, this group believes that a referendum presents the best opportunity for change.
On Friday, immediately following the parliamentary votes on abortion, Hołownia posted on Portal X about the stance of Poland 2050.
“We promised enough quarrels, and we kept our word,” he wrote. “In Polska 2050, we believe that the greatest chance for change is given by a referendum, but we voted for all projects. We did this out of respect for democracy and concern for the stability of the coalition. Now we leave the fate of these laws in the hands of the committee members,” he concluded.
Four bills
On Friday, the Sejm cast votes on four proposed laws concerning abortion. The discussion on the submitted proposals occurred on Thursday. The Confederation submitted applications to dismiss all the draft bills, whereas PiS suggested rejecting three of them, with the exception of the one of Third Way.
The Sejm did not consent to dismissing the Left’s proposed amendments to the Penal Code in the initial vote. These amendments propose a partial decriminalization of actions related to pregnancy termination. In the voting, 204 deputies were in favor of the motion to reject, 223 were against, and 15 abstained.
The deputies also opposed the motion to dismiss the Left’s second draft bill, titled “on safe abortion.” 206 deputies voted in favor of the motion to reject the draft bill, 222 voted against it, and 16 abstained.
There was also insufficient support to dismiss the Third Way bill, which proposes the reinstatement of legal status prior to the Constitutional Tribunal’s 2020 ruling on abortion. In the voting, 171 deputies were in favor of the motion to reject it, 244 voted against it, and 23 abstained.
In the fourth vote, the majority of the Sejm opposed the motion to dismiss the bill permitting abortion up to the 12th week of pregnancy. The Civic Coalition introduced this bill. 206 deputies voted in favor of the motion to reject the proposal, 222 voted against it, and 16 abstained.
The anti-abortion laws in Poland, which have been in place since 1993, underwent changes following the ruling of the Constitutional Tribunal in October 2020.
Previously, the Act on Family Planning, Protection of the Human Fetus, and Conditions of Permissibility of Abortion, also known as the abortion compromise, permitted abortion in cases of severe and irreversible fetal impairment or incurable life-threatening diseases.
The Constitutional Tribunal ruled this premise for terminating a pregnancy unconstitutional, which ignited a series of protests nationwide. This provision was nullified with the publication of the Constitutional Tribunal’s ruling in January 2021.
On Friday, the Sejm cast votes on four proposed laws concerning abortion. The discussion on the submitted proposals occurred on Thursday. The Confederation submitted applications to dismiss all the draft bills, whereas PiS suggested rejecting three of them, with the exception of the one of Third Way.
The Sejm did not consent to dismissing the Left’s proposed amendments to the Penal Code in the initial vote. These amendments propose a partial decriminalization of actions related to pregnancy termination. In the voting, 204 deputies were in favor of the motion to reject, 223 were against, and 15 abstained.
The deputies also opposed the motion to dismiss the Left’s second draft bill, titled “on safe abortion.” 206 deputies voted in favor of the motion to reject the draft bill, 222 voted against it, and 16 abstained.
There was also insufficient support to dismiss the Third Way bill, which proposes the reinstatement of legal status prior to the Constitutional Tribunal’s 2020 ruling on abortion. In the voting, 171 deputies were in favor of the motion to reject it, 244 voted against it, and 23 abstained.
In the fourth vote, the majority of the Sejm opposed the motion to dismiss the bill permitting abortion up to the 12th week of pregnancy. The Civic Coalition introduced this bill. 206 deputies voted in favor of the motion to reject the proposal, 222 voted against it, and 16 abstained.
The anti-abortion laws in Poland, which have been in place since 1993, underwent changes following the ruling of the Constitutional Tribunal in October 2020.
Previously, the Act on Family Planning, Protection of the Human Fetus, and Conditions of Permissibility of Abortion, also known as the abortion compromise, permitted abortion in cases of severe and irreversible fetal impairment or incurable life-threatening diseases.
The Constitutional Tribunal ruled this premise for terminating a pregnancy unconstitutional, which ignited a series of protests nationwide. This provision was nullified with the publication of the Constitutional Tribunal’s ruling in January 2021.
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