The Polish parliament rejected Friday a draft bill to decriminalize consensual abortion assistance, according to reproductive rights activists. The initiative was part of a group-bill proposal, which underwent an extensive debate early April in the Sejm (the Polish Parliament) and was protested against by thousands of people.

The refusal to decriminalize consensual abortion assistance was heavily criticized by the Center for Reproductive Rights via a statement, considering abortion criminalizing laws as the cause for the creation of a climate of fear, as well as placing women’s lives at risk. Further, the organization considered Friday’s decision as a missed opportunity to “alleviate the immense suffering endured by thousands of women and girls in Poland”.

When it comes to abortion, Poland has currently one of the most restrictive legislations in Europe under article 152 of the Criminal Code. This leads to a large number of doctors refusing to assist women who want to terminate a pregnancy, even when the circumstances are legal.

Reacting to the discussion approval of the four bills by the parliament, Amnesty International has stated that Poland needs to urgently amend their abortion law which endangers lives, jeopardizes health and contravenes the country’s international and European human rights obligations.

The Poland Constitutional Court took a controversial decision in 2020, when it decided to declare abortion in cases of fetal abnormalities as unconstitutional. Ever since, the decision has been heavily criticized by human rights organizations, among which Amnesty International considers it “as a coordinated systematic wave of attacks on women’s human rights by Polish lawmakers.”