Polish Sejm committee to consider two abortion liberalization bills — RMF24
The Presidium of Poland’s Sejm has convened a meeting of the extraordinary committee to consider bills on the right to terminate a pregnancy for Thursday at 9:00. The committee is to work on two bills aimed at liberalizing the current rules. This was reported by RMF24, citing the Presidium’s decision and statements by Polish politicians.
Sejm Marshal Włodzimierz Czarzasty announced the convening of the committee on social media platform X. He said that women’s rights must be fought for consistently. Education Minister Barbara Nowacka, commenting on the planned meeting on TVN24, said that a breakthrough is expected on the issue of abortion.
Position of the ruling coalition
Nowacka noted that agreeing on the changes required concessions from all members of the ruling coalition. According to her, MPs Dorota Łoboda and Monika Rosa worked on negotiations over possible changes. The minister did not disclose details of the forthcoming proposals, explaining that she did not want to pre-empt the committee’s work.
Answering a question about the position of the Polish People’s Party, Nowacka said that the coalition had found a compromise option. She added that the decision would not be ideal, but could become a step in the right direction.
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Which bills will be considered
The first document was submitted in July 2024 by MPs from The Left and the Civic Coalition. It provides for the partial decriminalization of terminating a pregnancy with the woman’s consent in violation of the current law, as well as the decriminalization of assistance in self-managed abortion.
The second bill, submitted by the Third Way coalition and referred for work in the Sejm in February 2024, proposes restoring the possibility of terminating a pregnancy in cases of severe fetal abnormalities. The Polish Constitutional Tribunal found this ground unconstitutional in 2020, and its ruling was published in January 2021.
Currently, Polish law permits the termination of pregnancy if it poses a threat to a woman’s life or health, as well as if the pregnancy resulted from a crime, up to the 12th week. The special committee also has before it a Civic Coalition and The Left bill to allow abortion at a woman’s request up to the 12th week of pregnancy, but this time it is not among the two bills designated for consideration.
