2023-11-14 19:34:41
The opposition has decided to take up the fight on particularly sensitive ground in Poland and which had animated the campaign for the October 15 elections: the right to abortion. Tuesday, November 14, New Left deputies tabled two bills to liberalize voluntary termination of pregnancy (abortion).
Polish law is one of the most restrictive in Europe on this subject: abortion is only authorized in cases of rape, incest, or when the mother’s life is in danger. In power for eight years, the conservatives have continued to tighten the rules. They thus obtained from the Constitutional Court that abortion be prohibited in the event of malformation of the fetus. And anyone who helps or incites a woman to have an abortion risks up to three years in prison.
As a result, even in cases of danger to the mother’s life, many doctors refuse to perform the procedure. A state of affairs which has caused the death of several women in recent years, with doctors waiting to be able to confirm the death of the fetus before carrying out the procedure.
83% of Poles for reform
In a Poland where the influence of the Catholic Church is declining, more than 83% of citizens are in favor of liberalizing the law on abortion, according to a recent poll. During the campaign for the October elections, the subject was brought back to the forefront by the left and the liberals. “The participation rate in the elections was very high, particularly among women, because they want a change in the law,” indicates Katarzyna Krzywicka-Zdunek, a Polish sociologist who has studied the voting behavior of women.
Poland is currently in the middle of a process of political alternation which is struggling to materialize. The conservatives of the Law and Justice party (PiS), who came first, do not have an absolute majority and have no allies. More than a month after the election, the new government has not yet been formed.
Three opposition parties came together in a coalition: Civic Platform (PO), Third Way and New Left. Together they have a majority of 248 seats out of 460 in Parliament. But they are reduced to waiting for the president to ask them to form a government. Member of PiS, the latter seeks to delay the deadline.
The left wants to push Parliament to legislate
Without delay, the left-wing deputies therefore chose to relaunch the debate on the right to abortion. Their two bills plan to authorize abortion up to the 12th week of pregnancy and to decriminalize aiding or abetting abortion. These measures are not included in the coalition agreement. “We will hold discussions with deputies from other parties” to convince them, explains Anna Maria Zukowska, New Left MP.
Within the coalition, the liberals of the Civic Platform are in favor of liberalization. But the peasant party, member of Third Way, is against it. It is therefore unlikely that the two bills will be voted on as they stand. But by putting them on the table at the start of the legislature, New Left intends to preempt the debate and force Parliament to legislate on the subject.
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