Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, who leads the rural-based, socially conservative Polish People's Party (PSL), said on Tuesday that only a middle-of-the-road proposal devoid of radical ideas to ease abortion rules had a realistic chance of passing in the Sejm, Poland's lower house of parliament.
Liberal Prime Minister Donald Tusk said: "The belief that those supporting plans to liberalize abortion law constitute a majority in the lower house has turned out to be an illusion. We are a minority in this house."
Tusk added that opponents of broader abortion rights, hailing from the opposition right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party, the far-right Confederation group, and Kosiniak-Kamysz's PSL, a junior partner in the government coalition, "form the majority in the house today, so it is difficult to bring about any changes in the law."
Meanwhile, several hundred supporters of abortion rights staged a vocal protest outside the houses of parliament in central Warsaw on Tuesday evening, demanding steps to liberalize the country's strict pregnancy termination laws, state news agency PAP reported.
Other than Malta's total ban, Poland's current abortion laws are the most restrictive in the European Union.
As Poland works through these contentious issues, the outcome of the ongoing debate over abortion rights in the country is uncertain.
The proposal mentioned by Kosiniak-Kamysz, championed by the center-right Third Way group, aims to revert to the abortion regulations that existed before the 2020 Constitutional Tribunal's ruling, which imposed stringent restrictions. Additionally, the bill proposes a national referendum on abortion laws.
Despite multiple proposals on the table, including from the Left and the centrist-liberal Civic Coalition (KO), Kosiniak-Kamysz argued that only the Third Way's proposal has a realistic chance of passing.
He highlighted the lack of support for other initiatives, such as the Left's failed attempt in mid-July to decriminalize aiding in abortions and to permit terminations up to the 12th week of pregnancy with the woman's consent.
"This is a great opportunity for this issue to be resolved," said Kosiniak-Kamysz, whose Polish People's Party is allied with the Third Way group.
"I am counting on this proposal ... to be put to a vote," he added.
The Third Way's proposal seeks to restore the legality of abortion in cases where a severe fetal defect is probable, a provision that was removed by the 2020 ruling. This approach not only underscores a potential shift in Poland's stringent abortion laws but also opens the door to public participation through a proposed referendum.
This announcement follows the establishment in June of a special committee tasked with reviewing four abortion-related legislative projects. However, to date, the Left's proposal is the only one that has been outright rejected by the Sejm.
(rt/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP
