The abortion law in Poland punishes this practice very severely and is one of Tusk’s electoral promises. However, it has confirmed that it lacks support to be able to eliminate or modify it.
The Polish Prime Minister Donald Tuskhas recognized that does not have the parliamentary support necessary to modify the country’s abortion lawone of the most restrictive in Europe.
Centrist Tusk took power in December at the head of a coalition that spans a wide ideological divide, with left-wing legislators who want to legalize abortion y conservatives who strongly oppose. Changing the law to allow abortion up to the twelfth week of pregnancy was one of his electoral promises.
“There will be no majority in this Parliament in favor of legal abortion, in the full sense of the word, until the next elections. Let’s not fool ourselves,” Tusk said during an event on Friday in which he was asked about the issue. Lawmakers in the Sejm, the Polish Parliament, were elected last October for a four-year term.
Rapid secularization of a Catholic country
Tusk said his government is working on the establishment of new procedures in the prosecutor’s office and in Polish hospitals to ease some of the de facto restrictions. “This is already underway and will be very noticeable,” Tusk said.
Poland is a country mostly Catholic where the Church maintains a strong position. But this Central European nation of 38 million people is also experiencing rapid secularization, which goes hand in hand with rising wealth. Abortion is considered a critical issue for many voters, and a source of deep social and political divisions.
According to current law, abortion is only allowed in cases of rape or incest, or if the woman’s life or health is in danger.
Under the previous Conservative Government A new restriction came into force that eliminated the right to abortion in cases of fetal malformationsa measure that caused massive street protests.
Women are often unable to obtain abortions even in cases permitted by law. Cases have been reported of pregnant women who died after a medical emergency because hospitals prioritized saving the fetus.
Avoid prosecution by helping women
Some doctors, especially in conservative areas, refuse to perform abortions on the grounds of conscience. In cases of rape or incest, the woman must report the crime to the prosecutor’s office. to obtain permission from a court for the intervention.
In practice, women They never resort to this route because of the stigma it carries and because the legal procedure can take a long time, say activists of the right to abortion.
Many women, however, abort, mainly using abortion pills sent from abroad or traveling to another country. The law does not penalize a woman who has an abortion, but it is a crime to help a woman have an abortion.. In one notorious case, an activist was convicted of giving abortion pills to a woman.
“I can only promise that, within the framework of the current law, we will do everything possible so that women suffer less, so that abortion is as safe as possible and accessible when a woman has to make that decision. So that people who get involved in helping a woman are not persecuted“Tusk said.
