The Polish parliament is scheduled to debate the liberalization of the country's abortion law on Thursday afternoon.
During his election campaign, Prime Minister Donald Tusk promised to strengthen women's rights and facilitate access to abortion. The country's current law is one of the strictest in the European Union.
However, there is disagreement in Tusk's centre-left coalition about the extent to which abortion law should be liberalized.
In 2020, the Constitutional Court tightened Poland's strict abortion law even further under the then conservative nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party government.
Since then, abortion has only been permitted after rape or incest, or if the life of the pregnant woman is in danger, but not in the case of severe foetal abnormalities.
The three coalition partners that make up Tusk's government have now submitted a total of four bills to parliament.
The draft from Tusk's centre-right Civic Coalition party provides for the legalization of abortions up to the 12th week of pregnancy. The left-wing alliance The Left is calling for the same in its own amendment. In the event that liberalization fails, The Left wants to at least enforce exemption from punishment in a further motion.
The Christian conservative Third Way party is proposing a return to the so-called compromise solution that was in place until the Constitutional Court's judgement.
This would mean that abortions would only be legal in Poland after a crime has been committed or if there is a risk to the pregnant woman or foetus.
