Polish president breaks ranks over abortion laws

‘Abortion is acceptable when foetal defects expose the woman to great suffering’

POLAND’S president has set himself at odds with the country’s conservative leadership after he criticised attempts to introduce a near blanket ban on abortions.

Andrzej Duda has often spoken about the right to life and protecting Roman Catholic values. However, in a radio interview yesterday he said that abortion was acceptable if the pregnancy involved defects to the foetus “that would kill the child and expose the woman to great suffering”.

“It cannot be that the law requires this kind of heroism from a woman,” he added. Mr Duda said he still favours outlawing abortion in cases of foetuses with non-lethal congenital defects.

He spoke after seven days of nationwide protests following a court ruling that declared it unconstitutional to terminate a pregnancy due to fetal defects.

Critics claim that the government is using its influence over the courts to tighten Poland’s already strict abortion laws without having to get legislation through parliament, something it may have struggled to achieve.

The daily protests have presented a significant challenge to Law and Justice, the governing party. It has long made political capital out of claiming it is defending traditional Polish values from what it regards as insidious Western influence.

Yesterday Mateusz Morawiecki, the Polish prime minister, called for the cancellation of tonight’s planned nationwide pro-choice protests due to the mounting Covid-19 crisis.

“I am asking for the protests to be cancelled because of the Covid-19 epidemic,” he said. “They are not only a threat to the lives of our seniors but also younger people, who are dying.”

Police have held a man, apparently working for Poland’s internal security agency, after he allegedly drove into a pro-choice march, injuring two people.