A “bill for legal and safe abortions up to the twelfth week of pregnancy will be presented to parliament,” Tusk said on Wednesday in Warsaw. To date, Catholic Poland has one of the strictest abortion laws in Europe.
Abortion is only permitted in cases of rape or incest, or when the mother's life is in danger. Abortions due to fetal malformations were banned by the Polish Constitutional Court in 2020. Given the violent protests at the time, the verdict is also seen as politically motivated.
Tusk also announced a bill to facilitate access to the morning-after pill. The right-wing nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party, which governed from 2015 until Tusk took office in December, also introduced a prescription requirement for the morning-after pill and ended state financial support for artificial insemination as part of its family. conservative. policy.
Directional struggle even after the election
The liberal-conservative electoral alliance Tusk's Citizens Coalition has set itself the objective of reversing several reforms introduced by PiS. The left-wing liberal and pro-European camp had already promised during the election campaign to liberalize the right to abortion. After the electoral victory in October, Tusk and its coalition partners included the planned reform in their coalition agreement.
The bill to legalize the right to abortion now provides for the right to abortion up to the twelfth week of pregnancy, Tusk said. According to him, the project to facilitate access to the morning-after pill provides for access to the medicine without a medical prescription to prevent unwanted pregnancies from the age of 15.
Portal/Kacper Pempel Poles have repeatedly demonstrated against strict abortion laws and for women's rights
It is not yet clear when Parliament will vote on the bills. Tusk said he could present a bill to Parliament within hours. Heated debates are expected. If the bills are approved, Poland's conservative president, Andrzej Duda, will still have to bring the new laws into force. He is close to the PiS party and is known as an opponent of abortion.
More conflicts over PiS politicians
Tusk's government is in dispute with Duda – the president has repeatedly supported PiS on controversial issues. Duda also plays a significant role in the conflict between Tusk and PiS surrounding two convicted PiS politicians. On Wednesday, Duda again received former Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski and his former Secretary of State Maciej Wasik at the presidential palace – one day after they were released from prison.
The two politicians were arrested on January 9 and taken to prison after initially seeking protection at the presidential palace.
Kaminski and Wasik were sentenced to two years in prison on appeal by a Warsaw district court in December for abuse of power in a previous position. Duda pardoned the two after a first trial in 2015. However, the Supreme Court declared this pardon illegal because the appeal process was still ongoing at the time. Duda once again emphasized this Tuesday that, for him, the 2015 pardon was still valid. Still, he forgave her a second time.
Prohibition on holding positions ignored
The conflict over Kaminski and Wasik could escalate again in the parliamentary session scheduled for Thursday. According to the court's decision, both are not authorized to hold public office for five years and therefore lost their parliamentary mandates. But you don't recognize this and want to attend the meeting.
Tusk announced new prosecutions against politicians convicted of abuse of power. “The case of Messrs. Kaminski and Wasik is not over, it has just begun.” What the two did over the past eight years also still needs to be thoroughly investigated by law enforcement authorities.