On Sunday, thousands of individuals in Poland took to the streets, expressing their discontent toward an attempt by the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish legislature, which aimed to further the creation of new bills to modify the stringent abortion law presently in force. The parliament convened on Friday and voted on four related topics of the abortion law, whilst also inaugurating an Extraordinary Committee mandated to author new legislation regarding the subject. Read more
In accordance with the week’s proceedings, the European Parliament conducted a vote with a majority of 336 members in favor of embedding abortion rights within the Charter of Fundamental Rights in the European Union. They implore Poland to repeal laws or other measures presenting impediments to obtaining an abortion. Within this month, the European Parliament also passed a motion in response to the “backsliding of abortion rights” perceived in Poland, a territory where the ‘right to legal abortion care’ has reportedly seen significant constraint.
Moreover, regardless of public dissent, human rights organization, Amnesty International, greeted the Sejm’s verdict with approbation. They affirmed that the passing of these four legislative changes marks a remarkable stride toward abolishing Poland’s harsh and anachronistic restrictions impeding access to abortion. These inflexible sanctions have reportedly inflicted substantial hardship on the lives and health of a plethora of individuals Read more
The initiative is anticipated to encounter opposition from Poland’s conservative president Andzej Duda. Last month, Duda vetoed a proposed change to the Pharmaceutical Law that would have allowed females aged 15 years and above to buy emergency contraceptive pills without necessitating a prescription.
Following a 2021 verdict by its Constitutional Court eliminating the “‘severe and irreversible fetal defect or incurable illness’ that endangers the fetus’ life” justification, Poland now possesses one of the stringently restrictive abortion governance in Europe.
The complete picture of this event can be reviewed at the original article by JURIST – News here.