Polish parliament cancels scheduled committee session on abortion reform after two-year hiatus

Sudden cancellation of committee session

On Friday afternoon, 11 September 2026, members of the Sejm extraordinary committee on abortion drafts were notified that their scheduled meeting had been called off. The session was set for Monday, 14 September at 16:00 in room 312 of building U, marking the first time the body would convene since 9 July 2024. The official reason provided by the committee secretariat was the absence of a formal opinion from the Ministry of Health regarding parliamentary drafts 223 and 611. The cancellation followed announcements from coalition politicians only hours earlier that work on the legislation would accelerate following preliminary cross-party agreements.

Political tensions within the ruling coalition

Lawmakers from both Koalicja Obywatelska and Lewica quickly questioned the administrative explanation. An unnamed Koalicja Obywatelska politician told TVN24 that the cancellation was a political decision to pull the handbrake on the process. Left-wing representatives described the explanation as absurd, pointing out that the ministry had two full years to formulate its stance on the files. Katarzyna Kotula placed responsibility directly on the Prime Minister's Chancellery during comments to OKO.press.

In my opinion, the decision to cancel the committee meeting is a political decision of the Prime Minister's Chancellery circle. It is a decision driven by male politicians being afraid, though nobody really knows of what. It is a decision harmful to women, to the abortion debate, and to abortion rights.

Kotula also stated that she and Lewica parliamentary caucus leader Anna Maria Żukowska had met with Sejm Speaker Włodzimierz Czarzasty on Friday to finalize arrangements before the sudden reversal.

Legislative history and pending drafts

The parliamentary committee was established in April 2024 to evaluate four distinct legislative drafts, but its momentum stalled following internal coalition disputes. Under current Polish law, termination of pregnancy is permitted in only two circumstances: when the pregnancy threatens the life or health of the woman, or when it results from an unlawful act, restricted to the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. The proposals pending before the committee represent varying approaches to altering those restrictions.

One proposal, submitted by Polska 2050 and the former Third Way alliance, seeks to restore the legal framework that existed before the 2020 Constitutional Tribunal ruling, which would allow terminations in cases of severe and irreversible fetal defects or life-threatening illness. Two other proposals, submitted separately by Koalicja Obywatelska and Lewica, introduce the right to terminate pregnancy upon a woman's request up to the 12th week of gestation. A fourth proposal focuses on the partial decriminalization of assisting with an abortion, a measure that previously failed to secure a majority in the Sejm during a vote in July 2024.

Sequencing of polarizing reforms

The delay follows a broader legislative strategy outlined by Sejm Speaker Włodzimierz Czarzasty, who previously stated that parliament would address civil partnership legislation first to avoid processing two contentious topics simultaneously. The government draft establishing closest person status was submitted to President Karol Nawrocki in late June 2026. Despite the completion of that prerequisite step, committee leaders have not yet established a new date for the abortion panel to convene. Żukowska asked on social media whether Health Minister Sobierańska-Grenda was deliberately freezing the legislative files.