Poland Parliament debates controversial bills on abortion, sex education News
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Poland Parliament debates controversial bills on abortion, sex education

The Polish Parliament began debating two controversial bills Wednesday amid an ongoing lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

One of the bills, titled “Stop Abortion” will, if passed, impose a near-total ban on abortion. Amnesty International has criticized the Polish government for choosing to debate these bills during the lockdown, accusing the Sejm (Polish parliament) of scheduling the bills’ passage so that street protests are impossible. “Attempting to pass these recklessly retrogressive laws at any time would be shameful,” says director of Amnesty International Poland Draginja Nadazdin, “but to rush them through under the cover of the COVID-19 crisis is unconscionable.”

This citizens’ bill has been circulating in the Sejm since 2016, but this week parliament hopes to reach a final decision. In March 2018, more than 200 women’s rights groups issued a joint statement condemning the statute and noting that “Prohibiting women from accessing safe, legal abortion violates a number of human rights enshrined in international law.”

Another bill would criminalize sex education, punishing teachers and promoters of sex education to children under 18 with up to three years in prison. Amnesty International has also criticized this bill, with Nadazdin stating that “its impact would be felt well beyond the classroom, creating a chilling effect on teachers, activists and even on parents who want to talk to their children about sex.”

Despite the temporary ban on public gatherings, protests against these bills are occurring [Polish] in front of the Sejm building.

“I believe that killing children with disabilities is simply murder,” said Poland’s president, Andrzej Duda, to a Polish news outlet. “If a project opposing this issue will find itself on my desk, I will certainly sign it.”

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