The bill received 215 votes in favor, with 2 abstentions, while 218 voted against, including 176 from PiS and 24 from PSL-TD. The Left has vowed to resubmit the bill.
Three KO deputies, Krzysztof Grabczuk, Waldemar Sługocki, and Roman Giertych, did not participate in the vote, although Giertych was present in the Sejm on Friday.
Donald Tusk announced the suspension of Roman Giertych and Waldemar Sługocki for their absence from the vote, while Krzysztof Grabczuk justified his absence due to hospitalization.
“This was not an ordinary vote,” wrote PO leader Donald Tusk on X on Friday afternoon, stating that Giertych and Sługocki would be stripped of their positions as deputy chairmen of the club and deputy minister of development and technology.
Giertych explained that he could not support the "sloppy" Left's proposal, which he believed could allow abortions to be performed by unqualified individuals.
"I accept the penalty imposed on me with humility," wrote Roman Giertych on X on Thursday.
"There has never been such a sloppy, unreasonable, and in some points dangerous bill for women," argued the KO deputy. "Not to mention that there has never been a proposal that would introduce such a free-for-all approach to abortion," he added.
According to Giertych, the Left’s proposal could allow "anyone but a doctor" to perform abortions up to the 12th week of pregnancy. He argued that this could mean that in most cases, abortions would be performed by unqualified individuals. He further argued that it was madness to "ban doctors, allow shamans, and exempt them from criminal liability for errors in abortion procedures."
He believes the bill would only impose a "symbolic" penalty for performing abortions up to the point of birth, which would practically mean a restriction of liberty for a first offense.
Giertych stated that such provisions were never part of KO's electoral program and that the bill would introduce "interpretative discretion, allowing the right-wing, if it came to power, to prosecute abortion as murder."
In response to the lawmakers' decision on decriminalizing abortion, the Foundation for Women and Family Planning (FEDERA) expressed disappointment with the rejection of the bill, which aimed to decriminalize assistance in abortion, emphasizing that the Sejm's decision is "a slap in the face for each of us" and announcing continued efforts to liberalize abortion laws.
Source: PAP/tvn24.pl
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