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According to the new rules, abortion in Poland will only be legal in two scenarios – if the pregnancy has threatened the life and health of the mother, or if a woman has become pregnant after rape or incest.
Small protests gathered on Wednesday night following an announcement that the PiS would make the official decision to implement the decision imminently, and abortion rights activists announced more would take place on Thursday.
Abortion has emerged as one of the most controversial issues since PiS took power in 2015, promising poorer, older and less educated Poles a return to a traditional society coupled with welfare policies. generous.
The court’s verdict was published in the official gazette on Wednesday evening.
“This silly decision will not prevent abortions,” said Cezary Jasiński, a 23-year-old student, standing in front of the Constitutional Court building in central Warsaw.
“But for every woman who suffers because of this decision, or who is forced to give birth to a child with Down’s syndrome, they (the judges of the court) will be to blame.”
Last year’s protests quickly turned into an eruption of anger against the government, especially among young people, suggesting that the PiS could face a new challenge from new voters in the years to come.
Officials on Wednesday said the government would now focus on helping parents of disabled children, although PiS as well as its centrist predecessors have been accused by critics of not doing enough in this regard.
“The state can no longer take a life just because a person is sick, disabled, in poor health,” said PiS lawmaker Bartlomiej Wroblewski.
The party denies opposition criticism that it influenced the tribunal, called the Constitutional Tribunal. It is one of the judicial bodies that the PiS overhauled in reforms which, according to the European Union, have politicized the courts.
“No law-abiding government should abide by this decision,” Borys Budka, leader of Poland’s biggest opposition party, the centrist Civic Platform, told reporters.
Access to abortion has declined even without legislative restrictions, as more and more doctors refuse to perform them for religious reasons, and many women seek abortions abroad.
In a justification released on Wednesday, the court left open the possibility for parliament to regulate certain circumstances covered by the law.
Marek Suski, a PiS lawmaker, said the party would consider introducing new rules that could help rule out the most extreme fetal deformities. But political commentators say consensus between the PiS and its arch-conservative ruling allies would be elusive.
“In cases where the fetus has no skull or has no chance of living outside the womb, there should be a choice. We will work on that,” Suski told public radio.
Opinion polls have shown some decline in the popularity of PiS in recent months, but an opinion poll by government-affiliated pollster CBOS showed it was 35% this month. , compared to 30% in October. The PiS and its two small parliamentary allies were re-elected in 2019 with 44% of the vote.
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