BRUSSELS – Poland’s right-wing government has delayed a court ruling to impose an almost complete ban on abortion, two weeks after the country’s biggest protests since the fall of communism.
Before the Constitutional Tribunal ruled on October 22, the country had one of Europe’s most prohibited abortion laws, one of three tiffs to legal abortion and virtually the only one in the country – violating the Constitution.
That ruling would have further restricted existing abortion laws. But on Tuesday, the government indefinitely delayed the publication of the court’s ruling in response to the protests, preventing it from going into legal force. The government would have had to publish the verdict by November 2 for the change to take effect.
The government can still publish the verdict at any time, as it has done with other disputed verdicts, although legal experts say doing so would violate the constitution.
“The debate is on,” said Michelle Dwarzik, head of the prime minister’s office. “In this situation, which is difficult and causes a lot of emotion, it’s good to give yourself some time for dialogue and to create a new situation.”
Eva Letoska, a professor of law at the Polish Academy of Sciences and a former judge of the constitutional tribunal, said the government’s delay was illegal.
“The publication of the tribunal’s judgments is mandatory,” he said. “Although there were objections to the verdict, some of them are legal. Delaying publication is unconstitutional.”
Prior to the constitutional tribunal’s decision, Poland allowed termination of pregnancy in three cases: in the case of fetal abnormalities, a threat to a woman’s health, and adultery or rape.
In practice, most legal abortions – 1,074 of the 1,100 performed in the country last year – resulted in fetal abnormalities. Yet legal abortion represents only a handful of parts obtained by Polish women, who end up abroad or go through dangerous illegal proceedings.
The court’s October 22 ruling sparked riots in the streets of Poland. Ignoring the threat of Covid-19 sanctions and the obstructive new coronavirus case, hundreds of thousands came out, with banners saying “I wish I could overthrow my government” and “This is a war.”
Demonstrations, mainly in the Roman Catholic country, also sparked widespread outrage in the ruling party, including complaints about the erosion of democracy and other epidemics.
Critics have accused the government of obstructing parliament from introducing an effective ban on abortion. He says the tribunal is under the thumb of the governing party, which appointed 14 of its 15 judges.
The law and justice-led government has also been accused of taking control of the judiciary by experts and the European Union. The Chairperson of the Court, Ms. Prozilebska is a longtime friend of the party chairman and Poland’s most important politician, Jarosla Kazensky.
Some protesters disrupted church services and confronted the clergy, attacking the institution of the Catholic Church, which has a special place in Polish society after supporting the struggle against communism. The church administrator is a close ally of the party.
Last week, Mr. Kazensky called on his staunch supporters to “defend Poland, defend patriotism” and “defend the Polish Church,” which could be said to encourage the opposition to confront the opposition.
“This is the only way we can win this war.”
However, despite the largely peaceful demonstrations, far-right activists, mainly black-clad youths and armed with pepper spray and flames, occasionally face violent opposition.
In response to the social unrest, President Andrzej Duda introduced a “change proposal” in parliament that would ease some of the restrictions imposed by the courts on abortion. It will prohibit abortion in other conditions such as Down syndrome.
With very little institutional support for families with children with disabilities in Poland, parents have stopped defending themselves after the child is born.
With a drop in support for both the ruling party and Mr Duda since the protests began, a session of parliament that was considering the president’s proposal on Wednesday has been adjourned until mid-November. The ruling party MLA said the session has been postponed due to the epidemic.
Opposition MLA Barbara Novak said the government has adjourned the session to face public outcry.
“They were scared of protests,” he wrote on Twitter.
Analysts say the president’s proposal is likely to get enough support from legislators, as it does not meet the demands of both sides of the debate.
Anatole Magdziers Contributed to reporting from years.
