Published: 14.07.2022
On August 30, 1996, the Parliament passed an amendment to the law on family planning, which allowed abortion when a pregnant woman is in difficult living conditions or in a difficult personal situation. It was necessary for the woman to submit a written statement and consult with a primary care physician or other authorized person than the one who was to perform the abortion. An abortion could be performed if the woman maintained her intention 3 days after the consultation. The amendment entered into force on January 4, 1997.
On May 28, 1997, the Constitutional Tribunal found that the provision introducing this premise was inconsistent with the constitutional provisions upheld by the so-called The Little Constitution of 1992, by the fact that "legalizes the termination of pregnancy without sufficient justification by the need to protect another value, right or constitutional freedom, and uses undefined criteria for this legalization, thus violating constitutional guarantees for human life. Moreover, in the justification to this judgment, he expressed the view that the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, adopted on April 2, 1997, confirms in Art. 38 the legal protection of human life. The constitutional basis on which the Constitutional Tribunal based its ruling was thus confirmed and clearly articulated in the [new] Constitution of the Republic of Poland ”. The provisions concerning this condition expired on December 23, 1997.
During Holy Week, when we remembered the martyrdom of Jesus, many Poles heard about the innocent death of 9-month-old Felek (such an altered name was given to him by Gazeta Wyborcza journalists). Potassium chloride – a substance used to carry out death sentences – was injected into the heart of the boy who was due to be born any day.
• Gazeta Wyborcza published an article titled "Ordo Iuris Wants the Constitutional Court to Delete the Premise of Endangering a Woman’s Health. Prof.
The Court of Appeals in Lublin, Poland, has upheld the verdict of the Regional Court in Radom, sentencing a gynecologist to one year of imprisonment, suspended for three years. The doctor must also pay PLN 6,000 to the State Treasury in legal costs.
The Ordo Iuris Institute has prepared a guide for hospitals and doctors on how to respond to the Guidelines issued by the Minister of Health and the Attorney General regarding the performance of abortions. According to these Guidelines, the health premise that permits abortion can encompass any aspect of health—both physical and mental—including any health ailment.
© 2016 ORDO IURIS - Instytut Na Rzecz Kultury Prawnej
