Although President Andrzej Duda has announced that he will not sign any bill decriminalizing assistance in performing abortions, last week’s vote on the matter in the Sejm was a test for the ruling Coalition of October 15. The conglomerate of several parties that together removed Law and Justice from power won last year’s autumn elections also thanks to plans to ease the draconian anti-abortion law in Poland. Unfortunately, the first attempt to at least partially implement the announcement ended in failure – Only three votes from the government coalition MPs were missing to pass the bill on decriminalizing assistance in abortion in the Sejm. The vast majority of PSL MPs voted against it, which was bitterly commented on by .
Maciej Orłoś speaks out against PSL after defeat in abortion vote
Although the bill was only three votes short, the parliamentary arithmetic is even more brutal than that number. Although there are PSL MPs in the government and the 15 October Coalition, (e.g. by buying pills). Only four people from this party – all female MPs – voted for the bill. There were 24 votes against, mostly male ones.. Maciej Orłoś sharply summed up the mentality of the Polish People’s Party on this issue:
It was PSL that decided that the bill decriminalizing abortion did not pass in the Sejm. (…) Out of 29 PSL MPs who voted, 24 were against this bill. Among them were only two women, so we can safely say that it was 22 old farts that decided the defeat of this bill. PSL arm in arm with PiS and Confederation, bravo! – Orłoś summed up in his program on YouTube.
The Left announced that in the coming weeks and months it will present further bills to ease anti-abortion regulations, and the lost first vote does not end work on other legislative proposals. We will see how PSL will behave in the next votes. According to the law in force in Poland, having your own abortion is legal. Help is illegal – buying pills, borrowing money, etc.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
