Poland took a step towards easing abortion rules today, after a parliamentary commission recommended decriminalizing the practice within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
The former ruling far-right Law and Justice (PiS) party, which led the country for eight years until losing power in elections last October, had tightened Poland’s abortion rules to a near-total ban in 2020 — only allowing abortion in cases of rape or incest, or if the life of the woman is endangered.
Poland’s new government, led by former European Council President Donald Tusk, has been trying to steer the country’s laws in a more liberal direction, including easing abortion rules, but disagreements within the coalition have slowed down progress.
In April, the parliament sent four competing proposals on how to ease abortion laws to a newly set-up special commission of lawmakers tasked with coming up with a compromise text.
Today, the committee adopted one of the proposals and recommended the parliament fully decriminalizes assistance to abortion within the first 12 weeks. The Polish parliament will now consider this proposal later this year.
