Poland delays a near-total ban on abortion

Poland’s right-wing government has delayed implementation of a court ruling that would impose a near-total ban on abortions after two weeks of the largest protests the country has experienced since the 1989 collapse of communism.

The country already had one of Europe’s most restrictive abortion laws before its Constitutional Tribunal ruled October 22 that terminating pregnancies for fetal abnormalities — one of three justifications for legal abortions and virtually the only type performed in the country — violated the constitution.

Also read: Why an abortion law ruling trigged mass protests in Poland

On Tuesday, the government indefinitely delayed the publication of the court’s ruling, which prevents it from going into legal force, in an apparent response to the protests. For the change to take effect under ordinary procedures, the government would have had to publish the ruling in a government journal by November 2.

The government could still publish the decision at any time, as it has done with other controversial rulings, even though legal experts say that would violate the constitution.

“A discussion is ongoing,” said Michal Dworczyk, the head of the Prime Minister’s office. “In this situation, which is difficult and causes a lot of emotions, it is good to give ourselves a bit of time for dialogue and for working out a new position.”

Ewa Letowska, a law professor at the Polish Academy of Sciences and a former judge at the Constitutional Tribunal, the country's highest court, said the government’s delay was illegal.

“The publication of the tribunal’s rulings is mandatory,” she said. “Although there were objections to the ruling, some of them legitimate, delaying the publication is unconstitutional.”

Before the Constitutional Tribunal’s decision, Poland allowed terminations of pregnancies in three instances: in cases of fetal abnormalities, a threat to a woman’s health, and incest or rape.

In response to the social unrest, President Andrzej Duda submitted “a proposal of changes” to parliament that would slightly ease the restrictions the court supported by allowing the abortion of fetuses with “lethal” abnormalities. It would still ban abortions in the case of other conditions such as Down syndrome.

Analysts say the President’s proposal has slim chances of getting sufficient backing from lawmakers since it does not satisfy the demands of either side of the debate.