Sejm rejects abortion ban bill
The Sejm (lower house) on Thursday rejected a "Stop abortion" draft introducing a complete abortion ban and penalties for women who remove their pregnancies.
There were 352 votes for rejecting the bill, 58 against and 18 abstentions.
The rejected bill, filed by the Stop Abortion committee, was to introduce a total abortion ban and prison terms for all who aid abortion, including the pregnant woman.
In late September, the Sejm rejected a draft liberalising abortion laws, filed by the "Save the Women" Legislative Initiative Committee.
Under Poland's current abortion regulations, which date to 1993, abortion is illegal in the country except when the pregnancy poses a threat to the woman's health or life, if it results from a crime such as incest or rape, or when there is a high probability that the foetus is severely and irreversibly deformed. The current abortion law is a compromise between the country's liberal and conservative circles. (PAP)
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