Poland’s proposed abortion ban

Banner from Krakow Post

Photo from BBC website

Thousands of Polish women went on strike yesterday in protest at a proposed abortion ban. The Polish government is currently debating legislation that would ban abortion in all cases, making the woman and the doctor who performed the operation liable to criminal prosecution.

Poland – a largely Catholic country – already has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe, only permitting abortions in cases where a court official determines that the mother has been raped, or where the mother’s health is in danger (which requires the opinion of two doctor’s), or where the foetus’s life is threatened.

This bill is a piece of citizen-sponsored legislation – legislation that is debated by government if sufficient people sign a petition – created by a conservative advocacy group Ordo Iuris.

Poland’s majority party Law and Justice has also put forward an alternative piece of abortion legislation to be debated alongside it, which would allow abortion in cases of rape, or where the mother’s life is in danger, but not in cases where the foetus’ life is under threat, which means it’s still stricter than Poland’s current abortion law.

You can read more here, and here.