2021-01-27 18:47 update: 2021-01-28, 11:52
Head of The Constitutional Tribunal Julia Przyłębska during proceedings. Fot. PAP/Marcin Obara
Poland's Constitutional Tribunal on Wednesday presented a written rationale behind its October 22, 2020, judgment on the protection of life.
The Constitutional Tribunal, after considering a motion of 119 Law and Justice, Polish People's Party and Confederation MPs, ruled in October that the provision of the 1993 anti-abortion law, allowing for an abortion if pre-natal tests reveal a high probability of irreversible damage to the foetus or its affliction with an incurable and life-endangering ailment is unconstitutional.
Following the tribunal's judgement, Polish women will be allowed to terminate their pregnancy only in two cases - if it poses a threat to the life and health of the mother and when there is a justified suspicion that the pregnancy is a result of incest or rape.
The rationale, along with dissenting opinions, was posted on the tribunal's website. In line with constitutional requirements, the judgment will be published on Wednesday in the Journal of Laws, the Government Information Centre wrote in a press release.
The tribunal's judgement sparked nation-wide mass demonstrations for several weeks by predominantly young people in all major Polish cities, but also in smaller towns. In an October poll conducted by Kantar, 59 percent of respondents said they supported women's right to abort a foetus if it was permanently and irreversibly deformed. (PAP)
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