A letter signed by 111 MEPs was sent on Monday 19 October – on the initiative of All of Us, the European Parliament’s pro-choice campaign – to Polish MEPs Piotr Uściński and Bartłomiej Wróblewski (PiS).
Both requested the Polish Constitutional Court to rule on the constitutionality of the law on abortion and, more specifically, on the possibility for women to have an abortion due to severe foetal impairment. The vote will take place this Thursday.
“The Tribunal is expected to rule in line with the ruling party PiS and declare the provision unconstitutional”, the International Planned Parenthood Federation European Network lamented on Monday.
For MEPs, this would be a “regressive measure” violating the fundamental rights of women in Poland and the country’s international obligations in this regard.
“We reiterate grave concerns regarding respect for the rule of law in Poland [see EUROPE 12562/21] and specifically the functioning this Constitutional Tribunal”, write the MEPs.
The Great Coalition for Equality and Choice – which represents roughly 80 Polish NGOs – points out that Poland has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the EU and that more than 90% of legal abortions are performed there because of foetal impairment. Indeed, it is concerned that the Tribunal may endorse the prohibition, in practice, against any legal access to abortion. (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)