Polish lawmakers vote to ease abortion law

Polish lawmakers passed two bills on Tuesday, October 20, to expand abortion access, though both face a likely veto from President Karol Nawrocki. The legislation, supported by Prime Minister Donald Tusk's governing coalition, must still receive approval from the Senate and the president's signature to become law.

The first bill passed the Sejm, the lower house of parliament, with a 233-203 vote. It seeks to allow abortions in cases of fetal abnormalities, reversing a 2020 Constitutional Tribunal ruling that removed fetal impairment as a legal ground for abortion. Under current law, abortion in Poland is only permitted when the pregnancy threatens the life or health of the mother or if the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest.

The second bill passed 217-213 to decriminalize assisting a woman in obtaining an abortion. This amendment to the penal code would repeal the provision that allows for up to three years in prison for anyone who terminates a pregnancy with a woman's consent outside the current legal framework.

President Nawrocki has signaled he would block the liberalization, and his chief of staff stated the president supports protecting life from conception to natural death. Opponents of the measures included the Law and Justice party and 14 members of the Polish People's Party.