2024-07-25 14:29 update: 2024-07-25, 14:33
Izabela Leszczyna. Photo PAP/Tomasz Gzell
Poland’s health minister has said that together with the justice minister they are looking for legal ways which would allow women to terminate pregnancies up until the 12th week without breaching the law.
Since taking over power in December 2023, the new Polish authorities have been in the midst of a moral dispute surrounding the topic of abortion. The current coalition government led by Donald Tusk’s centrist Civic Coalition has been struggling to fulfil its promises to liberalise the abortion laws, which were made even more strict during the rule of the previous government led by the socially-conservative Law and Justice.
While finding a reliable ally on the issue in the liberal coalition partner, the Left, Tusk has faced opposition from the conservative Third Way.
As recently as on July 12, the Sejm, lower house of parliament, failed to adopt a bill attempting to liberalise the current abortion legislation, which this time included the decriminalisation of pregnancy termination with the consent of the pregnant woman up to the 12th week of pregnancy.
Commenting on the outcome of this vote on Wednesday, Tusk said that "there is clearly no majority in the Sejm for solutions that liberalise abortion law unequivocally. I say this with regret, I take my responsibility as prime minister." He added, however, that he is open to "anyone who might have an idea... how to solve this issue."
In a conversation with state-owned broadcaster TVP Info on Thursday, Health Minister Izabela Leszczyna said that at the prime minister's request, she and Justice Minister Adam Bodnar are working on new standard procedures of action regarding terminating pregnancies, which would "ensure the safety of women and at the same time not require legislative changes."
She referred to the resolution issued by the health ministry, according to which every gynaecology and obstetrics hospital ward operating within the public health system is obliged to carry out the procedure of terminating a pregnancy when a patient has a doctor’s note saying that her life or health are in danger.
However in view of the fact that doctors and medical staff are still afraid to carry out such procedures out of fear of legal consequences, Leszczyna said she had "appealed to Prof. Bodnar (Adam Bodnar, the justice minister - PAP) for the closure of such teams at prosecutor’s offices, which among the medical environment are commonly known as ‘teams for prosecuting doctors’."
"Minister (Bodnar - PAP) agreed with me and I have confidence that this process is taking place," she added.
"We will be meeting in the coming days with lawyers and doctors to work out more measures, which will allow women, who don’t want, can’t or for various reasons don’t feel ready to become mothers, to legally terminate pregnancies up until the 12th week of pregnancy."
So far, she said, "we have two notions, which would allow that."
In Leszczyna’s opinion, as long as the Sejm does not have a majority in favour of legislative changes to the country’s abortion laws, "there is no point in tabling more bills" on the matter.
The current law assumes the possibility of performing an abortion when the health or life of a woman is in danger, or when the pregnancy is a result of an illegal act. (PAP)
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