Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk was left furious after narrowly losing a parliamentary vote on softening the country’s strict abortion laws due to an intra-government split.
The defeat on July 12 came after most MPs from the Polish People’s Party (PSL) joined the opposition Conservatives (PiS) and the right-wing Confederation party in opposing the government-backed proposal.
The legislation would have decriminalised the act of helping a woman obtain an unlawful abortion up to the 12th week of pregnancy, which currently carries a penalty of up to three years in prison.
The plan was backed by Tusk’s Civic Coalition (KO), The Left party and Poland 2050, which are all part of the ruling Third Way coalition. But with 24 MPs of the PSL voting against the legislation, it failed with 218 votes against and 215 in favour.
President Andrzej Duda, a PiS ally, had also made it clear that he would veto the bill if it was approved by parliament.
Tusk was livid at the turn of events and suspended two of his own MPs who chose not to vote on the liberalisation of abortion and also made clear his displeasure at the behaviour of PSL.
The Left’s caucus leader Anna Maria Żukowska expressed disdain for the KO and PSL MPs who refused to back the bill, by saying that “they have let down Poland’s women” and pointed out that “all Left MPs voted in favour”.
Leader of Poland's opposition Conservatives (PiS), Jarosław Kaczyński, has expressed his willingness to support the co-governing Third Way's proposal to soften Poland’s near-total abortion ban in an attempt to sow discord within Tusk's new coalition. https://t.co/5qgix8jXG6
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) April 15, 2024
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 parliament.”
Another representative opted to make a mockery of the Prime Minister’s failure.
“Oops, Donald Tusk and the coalition seem to have a problem,” said PiS spokesman Rafał Bochenek.
“They promised and wanted to decriminalise crime, but fortunately there is still spirit in the nation.”
The vote has raised doubt over other legislative attempts to reform Poland’s abortion laws.
With the parliament having shown it was unwilling to approve this element of the loosening of abortion legislation it seems unlikely it would pass laws regarding abortion on demand, as supported by both Tusk’s party and The Left.
Even a move proposed by the PSL and its Third Way alliance partners to bring back the pre-2021 compromise of allowing the termination of pregnancy in cases of severe foetal defects may be defeated. It is opposed by the PiS, the Confederation party and The Left.
Currently, abortion in Poland is only possible if the pregnancy threatens the life or health of the mother or if impregnation has resulted from a criminal act such as rape or incest.
Although Duda’s current and final term in office ends in mid-2025, any legislation proposed after that date would still face a challenge from the constitutional court that enforced the current near-total ban on abortion in 2021.
EXC: Brussels is looking at ways to fund abortions across the continent, according to a report from a behind-closed-doors meeting. https://t.co/ePoQ1w3BFK
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) April 12, 2024
