17 MPs from the PSL organization advocated a partial decriminalisation of abortion aid. Although the task was rejected in July, it now went to the extraordinary committee on abortion projects, where it will be discussed more thoroughly.
The Sejm re-examined the project, which assumes partial decriminalisation of abortion assistance (amendment of Articles 152 and 154 of the Criminal Code). The first effort to vote on this task took place in July 2024, erstwhile the task was rejected and most PSL MPs voted against it. The draft, although it had already passed through the work on the emergency committee, was very limited and inactive raised doubts, especially among those standing defender of life.
Why did the subject return to the Sejm, despite the deficiency of support? The MPs of the Left and the KO who re-submitted this task announced that they had succeeded in convincing any of the PSL MPs. The proposed changes rise concerns that they may lead to a weakening of the protection of the lives of conceived children and let easier access to abortion.
The draft was addressed to an emergency committee, the full name of which is the Extraordinary Commission for the Examination of Laws Concerning the Right to Abort. It is worth recalling that a akin process took place in April 2024, erstwhile the task besides went to the committee, where it underwent crucial changes in a more conservative spirit, and nevertheless yet disappeared in the vote. A key test for the task will so be the vote on a version that will leave the committee this time, although it is not yet known when.
In a vote on 8 November, 232 Members supported the proposal by voting against it. They were Members of the KO, Poland 2050, Left, Together, as well as any members of the PSL. Of the PSL 11 Members, the proposal was rejected. Mr Kosiniak, Mr Klimczak and Mr Bejda abstained.
What does the task contain?
The parliamentary draft presented on 8 November 2024, which went to work in the emergency committee, proposes crucial changes in the Criminal Code on the issue of criminal liability related to abortion. Here are the most crucial records:
- The abolition of criminal liability for assisting in abortion regardless of the phase of pregnancy – the proposal assumes repeal of the rules (Article 152(1) and (2) of the KK), which have so far provided sanctions for providing support for abortion.
- No punishment for abortion until week 12 – according to the draft, the amendment to Article 152 of the KK would relieve the individual who interrupts another's pregnancy by week 12.
- Protection for abortion after week 12 in case of foetal defects – the addition of paragraph 4 of Article 152 of the KK provides for the abolition of criminal liability for abortion after week 12 if serious foetal defects are detected, provided that the procedure is carried out by a doctor, caregiver or midwife.
- Abolition of criminal liability in medical procedures that save wellness or life – if abortion is the consequence of a treatment, diagnosis or care to defend the wellness or life of a woman, the task provides for a deficiency of criminality of specified action.
jb
Source: rp.pl
