Polish Parliament liberalizes access to the morning-after pill

In 2017, the previous conservative populist government limited access to this emergency contraception.

It was one of the elements of the program of the pro-European coalition now in power in Poland. On Thursday February 22, the lower house of Parliament adopted a law liberalizing access to “the morning after pill”. The law, which must still be debated in the Senate and promulgated by the conservative president, was voted by 224 deputies, facing 196 votes against, and authorizes access to this pill from the age of 15 without a prescription.

In 2017, the previous conservative populist government limited access to this emergency contraception, which has since been available only by prescription.

The position of the president, an ally of the conservative populist opposition, remains uncertain in the face of the new law, with his advisers citing his reservations on the age of access to the morning-after pill, considered too low.

One of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe

Furthermore, Poland still has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe. Abortion is only authorized in cases of rape or incest, or when the mother’s life is in danger. In 2020, the Constitutional Court sided with the previous government in declaring terminations of pregnancies for fetal malformation “unconstitutional”.

The Civic Platform, a member of the current pro-European majority, recently tabled a bill liberalizing abortion up to 12 weeks. But its adoption remains uncertain, given the reservations of other coalition parties.

In 2022, only 161 legal abortions were carried out, compared to around 2,000 before the law was tightened in 2020. According to feminist organizations, 100,000 women interrupt their pregnancies each year by resorting to abortion pills, banned in Poland, or in going abroad.