The lower house of the Polish Parliament passed a law liberalizing access to the morning-after pill on Thursday, February 22nd Their use had been restricted by the previous conservative populist government. It was only available by prescription. The law, which still needs to be passed by the Senate and signed by President Andrzej Duda, was approved by 224 deputies (against 196) and allows the pill to be taken from age 15 without a prescription.

Liberalizing access to this pill was one of the elements of the program of the pro-European coalition that formed its government on December 13th. The position of President Duda, an ally of the conservative populist opposition, remains uncertain over the new law, with his advisers citing his reservations about the minimum age for access to the morning-after pill, which is considered too low.

Over and beyond, Poland, a country with a strong Catholic tradition, still has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe, with abortions only permitted 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 and declared abortions due to fetal malformations “unconstitutional”.

The Civic Platform, a member of the current pro-European majority, recently presented a bill to liberalize abortion up to twelve weeks, but its passage is still uncertain due to reservations from other coalition parties. Only 161 legal abortions were carried out in 2022, compared to around 2,000 before the law was tightened in 2020. According to feminist organizations, 100,000 women interrupt their pregnancies every year by resorting to abortion pills banned in Poland or going abroad.