Former Polish PM regrets restricting abortion laws in light of liberalisation push

7 months ago 31

Former prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki of the former ruling conservative PiS party has said he supports restoring the status quo ‘abortion compromise’ in Poland he had scrapped when in power, as lawmakers push to expand abortion access.

Morawiecki said he feels regret as the proposals now being debated in parliament are even more far-reaching than those previously in force.

“If I could turn back time, yes, I would do it. I think the compromise was a bad thing, but much better than what may await us in the future,” he told RMF FM radio.

Between 1993 and 2020, abortion was permitted in Poland in three instances under the “abortion compromise”: Where the pregnancy was the result of rape, when the mother’s life was in danger, and when the foetus was not viable.

The Constitutional Tribunal, accused of being controlled by the PiS (ECR) government, abolished the latter abortion allowance in 2020, leading to large protests against the PiS government and the Catholic Church, which supported the court’s decision.

The parliament is now working on four bills proposed by the ruling parties to liberalise abortion laws.

After two days of debate, lawmakers on Friday voted on four different proposals to ease abortion restrictions through to a further commission stage. The ruling coalition led by current Prime Minister Donald Tusk remains divided over how far to take the liberalisation of the abortion laws go, hence the number of proposals.

The New Left (S&D) and Tusk’s Civic Coalition (KO, EPP/S&D/Greens) want free abortion on demand up to the twelfth week of pregnancy, whereas the more conservative Third Way alliance (Renew/EPP) insists on returning to the abortion compromise.

PiS and the nationalist Confederation Party both oppose liberalising abortion laws, although some PiS MPs support the Third Way’s proposal as the lesser evil.

The Third Way also advocated for a nationwide referendum on abortion laws, which received limited parliamentary support.

On 11 April, the European Parliament voted in favour of enshrining the right to abortion in the EU’s Fundamental Rights Charter, though chances of success remain slim as it would require the approval of all 27 member states.

But the people remain divided over abortion, with 50% in favour of liberalising the current laws and 41% against, according to the latest poll by Opinia24 pollster for TVN.

(Aleksandra Krzysztoszek | Euractiv.pl)