Parliament approves liberalisation of Poland’s abortion laws

The government’s majority in parliament has approved two bills that would liberalise Poland’s strict abortion laws. One would reverse the 2020 constitutional court ruling introducing a near-total ban on abortion; the other would decriminalise providing help to women in obtaining unlawful abortions.

However, it appears likely that both measures will be vetoed by President Karol Nawrocki, who is aligned with the right-wing opposition. His chief of staff reiterated on Tuesday that Nawrocki “supports the protection of life from conception to natural death”.

Mamy to! Sejm przyjął dwa projekty: dekryminalizujący pomocnictwo w aborcji i przywracający aborcyjny kompromis.
To niezbędne minimum i pierwszy krok.
Jesteśmy to winni kobietom. pic.twitter.com/1yLyfuFCQC

— Aleksandra LEO (@AleksandraLeo) October 20, 2026

When Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s ruling coalition, which ranges from left to centre right, took power in December 2023 from the national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) government, it pledged to soften abortion laws.

However, since then, it has failed to do so, largely due to disputes between more conservative and liberal elements within the coalition. But now, a year ahead of parliamentary elections, that has changed, with the more powerful lower-house Sejm pushing through two abortion bills on Tuesday.

One would once again allow abortions to be carried out in cases where a severe foetal abnormality is diagnosed. That would reverse a ruling by the Constitutional Tribunal (TK) in 2020 outlawing such abortions, which the TK found contravened various constitutional principles, including the right to life.

That judgement, which went into force in January 2021, means that abortion is currently only allowed in two cases: when a pregnancy results from a crime (such as rape or incest) or when it threatens the mother’s life or health. In Europe, only Malta has a stricter abortion law.

The ruling was issued when the TK was stacked with PiS-appointed judges – including three who had been illegitimately appointed – and regarded as being under the control of the then-ruling party. It prompted the largest protests Poland has witnessed since the communist era.

In the Sejm vote on Tuesday, 233 MPs were in favour of the new bill, with 203 opposed. Support came from parties in Tusk’s coalition, as well as the small left-wing Together (Razem).

Tusk’s centrist Civic Coalition (KO) and The Left (Lewica), one of its coalition partners, have previously expressed support for an even greater liberalisation of the law, allowing abortion on demand up to the 12th week of pregnancy. However, all of their MPs voted in favour of the compromise option on the table.

Meanwhile, five MPs from the centre-right Polish People’s Party (PSL), the most conservative element of the coalition, joined with the right-wing and far-right opposition in voting against the bill.

How MPs from each parliamentary caucus voted on the bill to allow abortions when a severe foetal abnormality is diagnosed (za = for, przeciw = against, wstrzymało się = abstained, nie głosowało = did not vote)

In a separate vote, the Sejm also approved a bill that would decriminalise the act of helping a woman obtain an unlawful abortion. Currently, that is an offence that carries a prison sentence of up to three years.

A previous attempt to pass such a bill was defeated in 2024, after most PSL MPs joined with the opposition to block it. That prompted Tusk to declare that abortion reform would be impossible during the current parliamentary term.

However, on Tuesday, 217 MPs voted in favour and 213 against, meaning the bill was approved. A total of 27 MPs failed to attend the vote, including 10 from PiS, among them party leader Jarosław Kaczyński. If they had participated, the bill would likely have been rejected.

All MPs from KO, The Left and Razem voted in favour of the bill, as did almost all from the centrist Poland 2050. However, 14 PSL MPs joined with the opposition in voting against it, including PSL’s leader, deputy prime minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz.

How MPs from each parliamentary caucus voted on the bill to decriminalise abortion assistance (za = for, przeciw = against, wstrzymało się = abstained, nie głosowało = did not vote)

Both the bills approved by the Sejm now pass to the upper-house Senate, which can propose amendments but not block the passage of legislation. Tusk’s coalition has an even larger majority in the Senate than the Sejm.

Once final versions of the bills are approved by parliament, they pass to the president, who can sign them into law, veto them, or ask the TK to assess whether they comply with the constitution.

Given that Nawrocki is aligned with the right-wing opposition, has vetoed a record number of government bills, and has declared his opposition to abortion, it appears very unlikely that he will sign either bill into law.

President Nawrocki joined thousands of people on the National March of Life, Poland’s largest annual anti-abortion event, which is held under the patronage of the Catholic church https://t.co/8BQEVUoMZn

— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) April 20, 2026

Speaking to broadcaster Polsat on Tuesday evening after the Sejm votes, the president’s chief of staff, Zbigniew Bogucki, said that Nawrocki would wait to see what the legislation looked like by the time it reached him.

However, Bogucki noted that, “during his campaign, the president said he supported the protection of life from conception to natural death”. Bogucki also pointed to the fact that the TK, even before PiS was in power, had been “very clear” on “protection of life”.

He also suggested that abortion was now suddenly back on the table because Tusk wants to “rehash ideological issues in order to cover up his incompetence in matters he should actually be dealing with”.

.@BoguckiZbigniew o stanowisku prezydenta ws. aborcji ⬇️

🗨️ Pan prezydent w tej kampanii mówił, że jest za ochroną życia od poczęcia do naturalnej śmierci@GoscWydarzen 🎙️ @mtejchmanhttps://t.co/ZJ4gKAPywM

— PolsatNews.pl (@PolsatNewsPL) October 20, 2026

A further complication is the fact that the TK is currently in crisis. The government does not recognise any of its rulings (including the 2020 abortion ruling) due to the continued presence of judges illegitimately appointed under PiS.

Meanwhile, Nawrocki and the court’s chief justice, Bogdan Święczkowski, have refused to accept five new TK judges appointed by the Sejm this year.

Opinion polling has consistently shown that a majority of Poles want to liberalise the abortion law.

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Main image credit: Konrad Kozlowski / Agencja Wyborcza.pl