Polish President Andrzej Duda has vetoed a law designed to facilitate access to emergency contraceptives, citing "the will to respect constitutional rights and health protection of children," his office said on Friday.
Both chambers of parliament had adopted the amendment to the pharmaceutical act provided for women and girls from the age of 15 to be able to obtain the morning-after pill without a prescription in future.
Duda is from the nationalist Law and Justice Party (PiS) which was ousted in the last election by a centrist coalition led by former European Council President Donald Tusk in October after eight years in power.
The new government is trying to undo various legal changes made by PiS — from the independence of the judiciary and the media to abortion law — in order restore Poland's EU funding.
Justifying his decision to veto the emergency contraception law, his office said Duda had been "unable to accept legal solutions that allow children under the age of 18 to access contraceptive drugs without medical supervision and without regard to the role and responsibility of parents."
Polish Prime Minister Tusk called Duda's decision as a missed opportunity "to side with women," in a post on X.
The government would now implement a plan B, he added.
Health Minister Izabela Leszczyna previously explained what this means.
She announced that in the event of a veto, the government would implement the relevant regulations by ordinance. The regulations for pharmacists would be changed.
Emergency contraceptive pills would be available from May 1, the minister said at the time.
