Widespread outrage among women and others welcomed the October 22 ruling banning termination due to fetal defects, ending some of the legal grounds left for abortion in a strict Roman Catholic country with a strict conservative government.
With a large focus on abortion rights, protests quickly turned to anger against the nationalist law and justice (PIS) government, its church allies, and its traditionalist policies. Two protesters went naked in front of the Presidential Palace on Tuesday.
The government’s publications department initially said the court ruling would be enforced by November 2, but it has not yet been published in its official gazette, meaning it has not been legally enforced.
“According to the rules, the ruling of the constitutional tribunal should be published in a timely manner,” government spokesman Piotr M કહ્યુંller told a news conference when asked about the delay.
“However, at the moment, we all need peace and discussion around this verdict, to calm the public mood and discuss among experts.”
PIS associate President Andrzej Duda has sought to dissuade opposition by proposing a bill that would restore the right to abortion because of fetal abnormalities, albeit limited to “fatal” defects.
Opposition politicians questioned whether the PIS could get enough votes to pass the amendment after a two-week delay in Wednesday’s parliamentary session.
“… they have no idea how to solve the situation in Poland, they do not have a majority in parliament (in favor of the bill), they are afraid to answer questions,” opposition vice-president Malgorzata Kidawa-Blanska told reporters.
PS MLA and Deputy Speaker of Parliament Rizzard Terleki dismissed any suggestion that the government lacked a majority on the issue, saying the postponement was related to the coronavirus epidemic.
The Polish Federation for Women and Family Planning said on Tuesday that women had intensified their efforts to obtain legal abortions in the days leading up to the court’s ruling.
It said it was aware of ab1 abortions performed in hospitals less than two weeks after the constitutional tribunal’s ruling, which would send an annual total of over 1,100 registered in 2019 each year.
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