Polish President, Prime Minister Reject Proposed Constitutional Amendment Banning All Abortions
Polish President Lech Kaczynski and Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski on Friday rejected a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban all abortions in the country, Reuters/OneNews reports (Reuters/OneNews, 10/27). Under current Polish law, abortion is banned except in cases of rape, incest, when the fetus is deformed or when the woman's health is in danger (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 2/16/05). According to Reuters/OneNews, the League of Polish Families -- junior members in the ruling coalition who proposed the ban -- wants to amend the constitution to guarantee that all people have the right to life from the moment of conception. "A child should not be punished for the crimes of his father," LPF Deputy Marek Kotlinowski said, referring to cases of rape, adding, "It's a tragedy for the women, but the fate of the child interests me more." Lech Kaczynski said that he supports "keeping the status quo" and that the decision made in 1989 after communism fell to allow abortion in certain cases "is good" (Reuters/OneNews, 10/27). Poland's Parliament on Friday sent the bill back to a committee, and a vote is expected in the lower house in the next few months, LifeNews.com reports (Ertelt, LifeNews.com, 10/27). However, without the endorsement from the president or prime minister, the measure is likely to be defeated, according to Reuters/OneNews (Reuters/OneNews, 10/27).
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