https://www2.polskieradio.pl/eo/dokument.aspx?iid=67455
No change to 'right to life' in Constitution
14.04.2007
Poland's ruling coalition failed to secure a two-thirds majority in parliament to change the country’s constitution by adding an anti-abortion phrase guaranteeing protection of human dignity, ‘from the moment of conception.’
269 deputies in the 460-seat Sejm, or lower house, voted for the amendment - 27 short of the required majority. Meanwhile, 121 voted against and there were 53 abstentions.
Before the crucial voting five projects had been submitted for approval and opinions remained divided even among MPs of Law and Justice, the major ruling coalition party.
Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski, a Roman Catholic, who appealed to lawmakers to vote in favor called it a ‘defeat of his government’. “I am leaving today’s parliamentary session very sad, as if I lost something I cared very deeply about”, said Poland’s PM after the voting.
Also, Speaker Marek Jurek filed his resignation after the series of unsuccessful votes on the proposals manifesting his disappointment with the result of the ballot. He was a major supporter of toughening the legislation.
Predominantly catholic Poland has one of the toughest abortion rules in Europe. Abortion is currently allowed only in cases of rape, incest, danger to the mother's life or irreversible malformation of the fetus. Breaking the law results in a two-year jail term.
Doctors breaking the law can be sentenced to two years in jail, although women who have the terminations do not face sanctions. In the European Union, only Ireland and Malta have similar rules.