Poland Debates Full Abortion Ban Ahead of Disputed Election

(Bloomberg) -- As governments across Europe struggle to contain the fallout of the coronavirus crisis, Polish lawmakers are debating a full ban on abortion and criminal penalties for teaching teens about sex.

Human-rights groups have slammed the conservative proposals as well as the timing, giving rise to creative protests this week that had to skirt a social-distancing ban on gatherings.

Lawmakers discussed proposals on Wednesday that embody the ruling Law & Justice Party’s drive to return Poland to its “Catholic roots,” a stance that has put the government at odds with the European Union’s multi-cultural values. The abortion debate is intended to mobilize more radical voters to back incumbent Andrzej Duda, an ally of the ruling party.

“This is a gesture to the right wing of the political spectrum,” said Anna Materska-Sosnowska, a political scientist at Warsaw University. “This agenda might divide the opposition and divert attention from the most important topics, which are health and economic issues.”

With just weeks to go before a May 10 presidential election, concerns are mounting in the EU that nationalist leaders may use the Covid-19 crisis as cover to tighten their grip on already fragile democracies. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban already secured the right to rule his country by decree indefinitely.

‘Women’s Hell’

In Poland, protesters avoided the ban on gatherings this week by standing in lines in front of stores and balconies carrying banners saying “women on strike.”

Others clogged a roundabout in central Warsaw in their cars with stickers that said “women’s hell.” Mass rallies by women derailed the government’s last attempt to ban abortions in 2016.

“The fate of this bill will be a key criterion in presidential elections,” Kaja Godek, a member of the Stop Abortion initiative that submitted the bill, told parliament. Law & Justice wants to work on the draft more in committee, lawmaker Boleslaw Piecha said.

Poland already has one of the continent’s most restrictive abortion laws, allowing the procedure only in the case of rape, incest, irreparable damage to the fetus or a serious health threat to the woman.

The government has also rebuffed criticism for pushing ahead with the election. Last week, Poland approved a law changing the rules for the vote to conduct it solely via mail-in ballot, raising concerns over both health issues as well as potential fraud. Other countries in the region -- such as Serbia and North Macedonia -- have delayed their spring ballots.

“You have a mouth full of words about the protection of life and at the same time you’re sending 30 million Poles to risk their lives in the undemocratic ballot,” Wanda Nowicka from the leftist Lewica party told parliament.

Duda is leading opinion polls, but still faces the potential of being forced into a runoff if he fails to win an outright majority.

With Law & Justice wielding only a tight advantage in parliament’s lower house -- with the opposition controlling the Senate -- the presidency is crucial to its efforts to remake Poland along the lines of its nationalist Catholic vision.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.