Recent abortion statistics in Poland show that the number of terminated pregnancies is approaching levels seen before the restrictive ruling by the Constitutional Tribunal, which effectively limited women's access to legal abortions.
Before the introduction of restrictive abortion laws, around a thousand Polish women legally terminated their pregnancies each year. We are now approaching that figure again.
The daily Rzeczpospolita noted that in 2023, 425 legal abortions were performed in Poland, indicating a more than threefold increase compared to 161 abortions in 2022.
As highlighted by rp.pl, recent changes in abortion statistics are due to medical professionals increasingly adhering to a less-utilized interpretation of the Tribunal's ruling, which allows mental health issues to be a grounds for a legal abortion.
At present, legal abortions are permitted only in two situations: when the pregnancy threatens the woman’s health or life, or when there is a credible suspicion that the pregnancy resulted from rape.
Guidelines for prosecutors on abortion
Prime Minister Donald Tusk has announced that new guidelines for prosecutors on abortion cases, prepared by Justice Minister Adam Bodnar, will be released on Monday, according to a report by polskieradio24.pl.
This move follows the Sejm's failure to pass the bill on decriminalizing abortion due to insufficient votes.
Source: IAR/rp.pl/polskieradio24.pl
(mp)
