Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk has acknowledged that he does not have the support in parliament [1] necessary to change the country’s strong pro-life protections for unborn children.
Currently, abortions can only be performed if a pregnancy threatens the life or health of the mother, strictly understood, or in cases of rape [2]. In practice, this results in very few terminations.
Tusk took power in December at the head of a coalition that spans a broad ideological divide, with lawmakers on the left who want to legalise abortion and conservatives strongly opposed.
Changing the law to allow abortion up to the twelfth week of pregnancy was one of his campaign promises.
“There will be no majority in this parliament for legal abortion, in the full sense of the word, until the next elections. Let’s not kid ourselves,” Tusk said during an event on Friday where he was asked about the matter.
Tusk said his government is instead working on establishing new procedures in the prosecutor’s office and in Polish hospitals in order to ease some of the de facto restrictions.
“This is already underway and it will be very noticeable,” Tusk said.