Decriminalization of abortion assistance returns to the Sejm. First reading, debate

The Sejm once again took up the parliamentary bill amending the Penal Code, which seeks to partially decriminalize termination of pregnancy with the woman's consent and decriminalize assistance in self-induced abortion. This is the second attempt by MPs Anna Maria Żukowska from the Left and Dorota Łoboda from the Civic Coalition to convince the parliamentary majority to decriminalize abortion.

Earlier draft on this matter was rejected in July this year. At that time, 215 MPs voted for the adoption of the act, 218 were against and 2 abstained. The rejection was determined, among others, by the votes of MPs from the PSL-Trzecia Droga club. Out of 29 voting members of this club, only four were in favor of adopting the amendment: Agnieszka Kłopotek, Jolanta Zięba-Gzik, Urszula Pasławska and Magdalena Sroka.

>> This is how we reported on tvn24.pl the parliamentary debate on the decriminalization of abortion

Now in the Sejm, MP Łoboda reminded that in Poland it is not a crime for a woman to terminate her own pregnancy, but she does not have any support from the state. – Restrictive abortion law does not mean that women do not terminate their pregnancies, but that they do it outside the system. To make it even more difficult, the state wants to leave them completely alone in this process, she added. She said that while the woman herself would not be punished for having an abortion, the person who supported her would be criminally liable. She noted that this means that women, fearing for their loved ones, do not inform them about their decision to terminate the pregnancy. – The change underway is not perfect, but it is a step that will minimally improve the safety of women and those closest to them, she said.

– This project is the elimination of absurdities in Polish law – said Patryk Jaskulski, MP of the Civic Coalition.

Anna Maria Żukowska, chairwoman of the Left Club, who also presented the content of the project, argued that it was “conservative” and “conservative”.

– This is a project that goes very far back than the one I originally submitted – she emphasized, referring to the proposed regulations on the decriminalization of abortion, which the Sejm dealt with in the first half of 2024.

In Żukowska's opinion, the project she presents meets social needs. It assumes solutions that do not allow the closest relatives of people who help people in need to terminate their pregnancies to be imprisoned for three years. – In Poland, pregnancies have been, are and will be terminated, we can only talk about whether they will be terminated in safe conditions or whether there will be a threat to the life of the pregnant woman and a threat to the family's sense of security, because most often it is the closest ones who help – she said.

According to Lidia Burzyńska from PiS The Sejm should not deal with this bill. Instead – as the MP demanded – there should be a debate in parliament about – as she assessed – the “catastrophic” situation in the health service, the liquidation of maternity wards, the “giant budget hole” and the “destruction of the state in all areas.”

– In a situation of general chaos, the ideological project of decriminalizing abortion is once again being discussed – she said. According to the MP, the authors of the bill are not interested in the well-being of women, but in order to “distract attention from the government's incompetence.”

According to Karina Bosak, an MP representing the Confederation, the fact that the project was submitted to the Sejm for the second time after the Sejm majority recently rejected the previous one, which contained – according to the MP – the same solutions, proves “fanaticism and stupid persistence in things that are simply bad.” “. – You are submitting a radically left-wing motion that has not been consulted within the coalition – said the MP.

In Bosak's opinion, MPs who were previously against the project were subjected to a “public lynching” and pressure was put on them to change their minds. – This project is bad, clearly inconsistent with the constitution – she said.

– Stop lying that the project only concerns impunity for people inciting or helping to kill a human being while he or she is still in the mother's womb. You want to delete crimes that are currently punishable by three years' imprisonment, she said.

A motion was submitted to reject the project in its entirety, but the vote on it will take place on Friday, during the voting block.