The Sejm has voted on two bills that change Poland's abortion rules after months of waiting. The Nationwide Women's Strike (Ogólnopolski Strajk Kobiet) rejected them as crumbs thrown in at the last moment and a betrayal of pre-election promises. Its statement says the promise was full access to abortion up to the 12th week of pregnancy, not cosmetic amendments.
One bill amends the Criminal Code and partly decriminalises helping someone end a pregnancy. Under the previous rule, providing information or driving someone to a clinic could bring up to 3 years in prison, and that penalty has now been lifted. The bill also shields doctors from prosecution when an abortion is needed to save a woman's life or health, or when tests show severe fetal defects. The second bill amends the family planning act and restores legal abortion where tests show severe and irreversible fetal defects, reversing the effect of the 2020 Constitutional Tribunal ruling that triggered mass protests.
In response, the Nationwide Women's Strike called for immediate protests under the slogan "Legalna aborcja do 12. tygodnia!" in several dozen Polish cities and abroad. The source names Warsaw, Kraków, Wrocław, Poznań and Gdańsk among the planned demonstration sites.