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Poland's new PM Tusk wants to reform Polish abortion legislation

Published January 24,2024
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Donald Tusk, Poland's new prime minister, plans to reform the country's abortion legislation.

"We are ready to introduce a draft for legal and safe abortion up to the 12th week into parliament in the next few hours," Tusk said on Wednesday in Warsaw.

"As you know, there are different views within the coalition on this issue (abortion)," Tusk added.

The amendment to the law has been proposed by the parliamentary faction of his liberal-conservative Civic Coalition.

Tusk's centre-left government includes two other parties, the left-wing Lewica alliance and the Christian-conservative Third Way.

Another bill is intended to make the morning-after pill easier to access. Women and girls aged 15 and over should be able to receive them without a prescription in the future.

In 2021, stricter abortion laws came into force in Poland following a controversial ruling by the Constitutional Court. Since then, women have not been allowed to have an abortion even if an unborn child has severe malformations.

Last year there were protests across the country after the death of a pregnant woman during hospital treatment. The woman died of sepsis after her amniotic fluid leaked.

Women's rights activists accused the doctors of not opting for an abortion despite the complications, out of fear of legal consequences.