Posted on 07/13/2024 4:18:21 AM PDT by Cronos
Parliament has rejected a bill that would have softened Poland’s strict abortion laws. While the measure was supported by the majority of the governing coalition, it was defeated thanks to the most conservative element of the ruling camp, which joined with the opposition to vote against it.
The legislation would have decriminalised the act of helping a woman obtain an unlawful abortion up to the 12th week of pregnancy. Under the current law, someone can be jailed for up to three years for doing so.
It was proposed last year by Lewica (The Left), which is part of Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s ruling coalition. Tusk himself announced yesterday that his centrist Civic Platform (PO), the largest member of the coalition, would vote in favour.
However, almost the entire caucus of the Polish People’s Party (PSL), the most conservative element of the government, voted against the bill today. PSL’s 24 votes, combined with 175 from the national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, 17 from the far-right Confederation (Konfederacja) and two from the right-wing Kukiz’15 – all three of which are opposition parties – meant there were 218 MPs against the bill.
Only 215 MPs were in favour, with 154 from KO, 30 from the centrist Poland 2050 (Polska 2050), another member of the ruling coalition, 26 from the Left, four from PSL, and one independent.
Earlier this week, President Andrzej Duda, a conservative PiS ally, had declared that he would veto the bill even if it was passed by parliament.
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The sign reads "Yes for life"
The result of the vote was met with a standing ovation from the PiS benches. “Life and the constitution won,” declared PiS MP Bartłomiej Wróblewski.
“The most vulgar attempt to violate the Constitution since 1989, depriving children before birth of legal protection, was defeated in the Sejm,” he added.
Currently, abortion in Poland is only possible if the pregnancy threatens the life or health of the mother or if it results from a criminal act such as rape or incest.
The EUro-Reich will not be happy...sanctions forthcoming.
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