A Polish NGO called Pro-Prawo do Życia (Pro-The right to life) filed a civil draft bill (reportedly signed by over 130 000 Polish citizens) in the Parliament today. If passed, the new law would ban abortion with no exceptions.

The draft bill proposes to criminalise abortion, meaning the person terminating their own pregnancy would be prosecuted. Currently the law bans any form of assistance in obtaining an abortion, but the pregnant person deciding to end their pregnancy is not a subject to prosecution.

In addition, the draft proposes to change the legal definition of a child, reframing it to cover the time from conception until legally coming of age at 18. Finally, Pro-The right to life wants to criminalise informing of possibilities of terminating the pregnancy – including providing evidence-based knowledge of medical abortion.

Poland already has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe. After the Constitutional Tribunal’s “ruling” banning abortion in case of foetal malformations, abortion is only legal in Poland in case of the pregnancy being a result of a crime or if it poses a significant threat towards the mother’s life or health. The majority of Poles stand against the current law, introduction of which led to mass protests all over the country.