Polish Left pushing abortion liberalization through parliament despite looming presidential veto

Polish left-wing groups are demanding that President Karol Nawrocki affirm legislation to relax national abortion restrictions, but those close to the leader say they’re wasting their time.The lower chamber of the Polish parliament approved two bills on Tuesday that would decriminalize assisting women to procure an abortion and would reverse a 2020 ruling from the nation’s high court that found abortion on the grounds of birth abnormalities to be unconstitutional.Feminist organizations and leftist groups staged protests in various cities on Thursday night, the anniversary of the Supreme Court of Poland’s ruling that sparked some of the largest demonstrations in modern Polish history, to keep the pressure on the issue as it heads to the upper chamber for review. A demonstrator holds a poster reading, “It was about the law, not a compromise!’ during a demonstration against the Polish abortion law and to demand the legalisation of abortion in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Beata Zawrzel) The bills are largely seen as a token gesture from left-wing Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who has dragged his feet on promises to liberalize abortion in Poland.“The state trusts its citizens,” Government Equality Commissioner Katarzyna Kotula, a member of the Left party, said on Tuesday after the bills passed. “Today, a woman performing an abortion on her own is not punished. It’s time to end the punishment of all those who love, worry, and respect our choices.”It is very likely to pass the upper chamber, where Tusk’s coalition maintains a solid majority, but Nawrocki’s camp has already indicated the president is prepared to veto.Earlier this week, Zbigniew Bogucki, the president’s chief of staff, quashed expectations that the bills would proceed, citing Nawrocki’s campaign promises.“We have a very clear constitutional and legal framework regarding the protection of life,” Bogucki said. “The president ran in the election explicitly stating his support for the protection of life, and he secured the backing of the majority of voters and that has not changed, nor will it change.”Abortion is only legally permissible in Poland in cases of rape, incest, or when the pregnancy threatens the life of the mother.It was previously legal in cases of severe birth abnormalities, but that changed in 2020 when the Polish Constitutional Tribunal found such cases to be in violation of the national constitution. The court claimed such abortions violated articles guaranteeing a right to life and forbidding eugenic practices.Women are not held liable for an abortion performed on them, nor for self-inducing one through a pill or other means, but medical professionals who facilitate abortions are held criminally liable.VIRGINIA ABORTION AMENDMENT FACES LEGAL CHALLENGE, EVEN IF VOTERS APPROVE ITThe abortion issue is only one battlefield in the political feud that defines modern Polish politics, which is personified in the concurrent terms of Nawrocki and Tusk.Since taking office in August of last year, Nawrocki has utilized his presidential veto to block over 40 bills — more than any other president in the country’s history. Overriding a presidential veto requires a two-thirds majority in the lower chamber of parliament, which the Tusk coalition would be unable to muster.