Polish Senate committees back two bills easing abortion law as Nawrocki weighs a veto

Two Polish Senate panels on Tuesday, Nov. 3, backed a pair of bills that would loosen one of Europe's strictest abortion laws. That puts both measures in front of the full Senate at the sitting that opens Wednesday. The votes bring the bills a step closer to President Karol Nawrocki, whose office has said he favors protecting life "from conception to natural death" and has not ruled out a veto.

The first bill would end criminal penalties for people who help a woman end a pregnancy. The second would restore a legal ground for abortion when a fetus has a severe and irreversible defect or an incurable illness. Poland's Constitutional Tribunal struck that ground down in a ruling that took effect in January 2021. The governing coalition passed both bills in the Sejm, the lower house, on Oct. 20. It does not have the three-fifths majority it would need there to override a presidential veto.

This story sets out what the committees did, what each bill would change, where the parties stand in their own words, what polling shows, and the steps left under Poland's constitution. It follows our earlier coverage of Nawrocki's clashes with the government over the Constitutional Tribunal and Poland's ambassadors.

What the Senate committees did on Tuesday

The Criminal Code bill went to two committees sitting together: the Legislative Committee and the Committee on Human Rights and the Rule of Law. Rynek Zdrowia, citing the Polish Press Agency (PAP), reported that Sen. Magdalena Kochan of the Civic Coalition (KO) moved to adopt it without amendments. The motion carried 10 to 4, with no abstentions. TVP Info also reported that the committees proposed no changes.

The Senate Health Committee took up the second bill, which amends Poland's 1993 family planning law. Lawmakers from the Third Way (Trzecia Droga) alliance first filed it in February 2024. Rynek Zdrowia reported that the Health Committee backed it with three drafting amendments and one change of substance. The bill as passed by the Sejm promises psychological help to "the person entitled to such help." The committee's version promises it to "that woman" (both phrases translated from Polish by 567 Politics). If the full Senate adopts any amendment, the bill must go back to the Sejm before it can reach the president.

The difference matters for timing. If the Senate passes the Criminal Code bill unchanged, it goes straight to Nawrocki. If it amends the family planning bill, the Sejm must vote again first.

What each bill would change

The Criminal Code bill

Polish law does not punish a woman for ending her own pregnancy. Article 152 of the Criminal Code instead punishes other people. Under the article's second paragraph, anyone who helps or persuades a woman to end a pregnancy outside the law faces up to three years in prison. The bill, which KO and the Left (Lewica) filed in July 2024, would repeal that paragraph.

The bill also adds a new paragraph that shields doctors, nurses and midwives from prosecution in set cases. One case is acting to avert a danger to the woman's life or health. Another is when medical evidence shows a high probability of a severe and irreversible fetal defect, or of an incurable illness that threatens the fetus's life.

A similar attempt failed in July 2024, when the Sejm rejected a decriminalization bill 218 to 215. Notes from Poland reported that most PSL deputies joined the opposition to defeat it then, and that Prime Minister Donald Tusk afterward said abortion reform would be impossible in this parliamentary term.

The family planning bill

Under current law, abortion is legal in Poland in two cases. The first is when the pregnancy threatens the woman's life or health, with no time limit. The second is when the pregnancy results from a crime, up to 12 weeks. A third ground, for severe fetal defects, existed until January 2021. That month the government published an October 2020 ruling by the Constitutional Tribunal that struck it down. The ruling set off weeks of mass street protests.

The second bill would bring back a version of that ground for severe and irreversible fetal defects or incurable illness. It would also guarantee psychological support within 24 hours to a woman who learns of such a diagnosis. Neither bill would allow abortion on request up to 12 weeks, which KO promised during the 2023 election campaign. Notes from Poland reported that all KO and Left deputies nonetheless voted for both bills.

How the Sejm voted on Oct. 20

Both bills passed the Sejm on Oct. 20, as Politico Europe and Notes from Poland reported. The decriminalization bill passed 217 to 213, with three abstentions. The fetal-anomaly bill passed by a wider margin, 233 to 203, with one abstention.

The coalition did not vote as one bloc. Notes from Poland reported that 14 deputies from the Polish People's Party (PSL), a coalition member, voted against the decriminalization bill, including party leader and Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz. Five PSL deputies voted against the fetal-anomaly bill. Twenty-seven deputies missed the decriminalization vote, among them 10 from PiS, including party leader Jarosław Kaczyński. The outlet noted the bill would likely have failed had they voted.

• For
• Against
• Abstained

0

100

200

300

Help with abortion (Criminal Code)For: 217Against: 213Abstained: 3

Fetal-anomaly ground (family planning law)For: 233Against: 203Abstained: 1

Help with abortion (Criminal Code)Fetal-anomaly ground (family planning law)

Source: Politico Europe

Show the numbers

Bill	For	Against	Abstained
Help with abortion (Criminal Code)	217	213	3
Fetal-anomaly ground (family planning law)	233	203	1

The numbers show why a veto would likely stand. With every deputy voting, an override needs 276 votes. Neither bill came within 40 votes of that.

What the coalition says

Supporters in the coalition describe the bills as a first step that the current parliament can actually pass. On X after the Sejm vote, Katarzyna Kotula of the Left wrote, in words Politico translated: "The state trusts women. A woman who terminates her own pregnancy is already exempt from criminal punishment. It's time to stop punishing everyone who loves us, worries about us and respects our choices."

Barbara Nowacka of KO said she backed the bills while wanting more. "But I voted for it and will always vote for every change, even the smallest one, that brings Polish women closer to full rights over their own lives," she said, according to Politico.

In the Sejm debate, Onet's report on the session quoted Urszula Pasławska of PSL asking: "Will the state pretend the issue does not exist, close its eyes and pretend it does not see these women?" (translated from Polish). Joanna Wicha of the Left said her party wants the European standard and called decriminalization "not as big a step as we dream of" (translated). Deputy Justice Minister Arkadiusz Myrcha said "the silent state ended on Oct. 15, 2023," the date of the last general election (translated).

Sejm Speaker Włodzimierz Czarzasty, also of the Left, aimed his remarks at the president. "By refusing to sign [the abortion] legislation, the president is hurting people," he said, according to Politico. "If he wants to hurt women, he will hurt them."

Senate Vice-Marshal Magdalena Biejat of the Left told Gazeta.pl on Oct. 27 that she expected the Senate to pass the bills without amendments. She said the Left "want[s] to and will keep working" toward wider abortion rights (translated), and that the immediate goal was to persuade the president to sign at least one of the two bills. If the full Senate adopts the Health Committee's amendment, the family planning bill will not pass unchanged.

What the opposition and the president's office say

Law and Justice (PiS), the largest opposition party, voted against both bills. In the Sejm, PiS deputy Anna Milczanowska called them "an attempt to falsify reality and introduce solutions contrary to the protection of life" that would weaken "the constitutional protection of conceived life" (translated from her remarks in the official Sejm transcript and Onet's report).

Karina Bosak of the right-wing Confederation (Konfederacja) moved to reject both bills at first reading. "A human being does not become a human being only when he can speak and defend his rights," she said (translated), according to Onet. After the vote, Confederation co-leader Krzysztof Bosak called it "a disgrace for the deputies of the current coalition," Do Rzeczy reported. "Now we are counting on President Nawrocki's veto on both abortion laws," he said (translated).

The president's office has not announced a decision and says it will not prejudge one. Nawrocki said during his 2025 campaign that he would not sign legislation easing abortion rules, Politico reported. His chief of staff, Zbigniew Bogucki, said on Polsat News on Oct. 29 that the president "is for the protection of life from conception to natural death" (translated), Polsat News reported. Asked whether that meant a veto, he said: "I cannot say that, because it is always the president's decision" (translated). He pointed to past rulings of the Constitutional Tribunal, including one from the 1990s under its then-president Andrzej Zoll, and said: "In Poland, life is protected from conception to natural death."

Presidential spokesman Rafał Leśkiewicz was asked on TVN24 whether he could imagine the president signing the bills. "I don't know whether I can imagine a signature under these laws, because I don't know the president's decision," he said, according to Rynek Zdrowia (translated). He added that Nawrocki had said in the campaign that he "is an opponent of abortion and is for life, but also said he is ready for a conversation," and that it was up to the governing parties to approach the president.

Opponents of the bills often cite Article 38 of the constitution, which in the English text published by the Constitute Project reads: "The Republic of Poland shall ensure the legal protection of the life of every human being." Milczanowska cited it in the Sejm, together with Article 30 on human dignity.

Criticism from abortion-rights campaigners

Not every critic of the bills is on the right. The campaign group Legalna Aborcja (Legal Abortion) wrote on X, in words Politico translated: "What does this mean for women who need abortions now? Nothing, because none of these projects would help them."

What polling shows

Polls show more support for the fetal-anomaly bill than for broader change. A survey by SW Research for Onet interviewed 800 adult Poles online through the SW Panel on Oct. 27–28, 2026. The sample was set by quotas for sex, age and town size. Respondents were asked (translated from Polish): "The Sejm passed a law that again allows legal termination of pregnancy in cases of severe fetal defects. What do you think President Karol Nawrocki should do with it?"

Sign it

60.8%

Veto it

12.5%

Send it to the Constitutional Tribunal

9.6%

I don't know this bill

8.8%

Hard to say

8.3%

Source: SW Research for Onet

Show the numbers

Answer	Share
Sign it	60.8%
Veto it	12.5%
Send it to the Constitutional Tribunal	9.6%
I don't know this bill	8.8%
Hard to say	8.3%

Six in 10 said the president should sign it. About one in five chose a veto or a referral to the Tribunal. Among respondents under 24, 62.7% said he should sign and 19.4% said he should veto it. The question asked only about the fetal-anomaly bill, not the decriminalization bill.

These figures describe the views of a sample of the public. They are not the same as reactions on social media, which this story does not treat as a measure of opinion.

The Senate vote, the president and a possible veto

The Senate's 68th sitting is scheduled for Nov. 4–6, 2026, according to the Senate's official calendar. Under Article 121 of the constitution, the Senate has 30 days from receiving a bill to pass it unchanged, amend it or reject it. The Sejm can override Senate amendments or a rejection by an absolute majority of votes, with at least half of all deputies present.

Under Article 122, the president then has 21 days to act. He can sign a bill. He can ask the Constitutional Tribunal whether it conforms with the constitution. Or he can veto it and return it to the Sejm. The Sejm can override a veto only by a three-fifths majority, with at least half of all deputies present.

1. 1Sejmpassed both bills on Oct. 20
2. 2Senate committeesbacked both on Nov. 3; one with amendments
3. 3Senate votesitting set for Nov. 4–6
4. 4Sejm againvotes on any Senate amendments by absolute majority
5. 5President21 days to sign, veto or refer to the Constitutional Tribunal
6. 6Veto overrideneeds three-fifths of Sejm votes cast

Source: Constitution of Poland, Articles 121–122 (Constitute Project)

A referral to the Tribunal would carry its own complications. The court is the same body whose 2020 ruling removed the fetal-defect ground. The government disputes the legitimacy of several of its judges, a fight we covered when the EU Commission said parliament can appoint tribunal judges. The votes also come about a year before the general election due in late 2027, a contest party leaders have already begun to frame, as in the dispute over Kaczyński's EU remarks.

How this compares with other abortion votes

Poland is not the only place where abortion rules are on the ballot or the legislative agenda this week. In the United States, Virginia voters decide Tuesday on a reproductive freedom amendment, and Missouri voters decide on Amendment 3. In Poland, the decision rests with parliament and the president, not with voters directly. How we weigh sources and polls in stories like this one is set out in our methodology.

Key facts

Differing perspectives

Should Poland ease its abortion law through the two bills now before the Senate?

Each position is summarized as its supporters make it, with equal weight and in alphabetical order. A summary is not an endorsement; the evidence for each is weighed in the story above.

• Go further, to abortion on request

  Who holds it: The Left, abortion-rights groups such as Legalna Aborcja

  This camp backs the two bills as a minimum but says they would not help most women who need an abortion now, because neither allows abortion on request. They want Poland to adopt what they call the European standard, legal abortion up to 12 weeks, which KO promised in 2023. They say they will keep working toward that goal in parliament while pressing the president to sign the narrower bills.

  In their words: Gazeta.pl, interview with Senate Vice-Marshal Magdalena Biejat (Left) ↗

• Keep the current law

  Who holds it: Law and Justice (PiS), Confederation, President Karol Nawrocki's office

  Opponents say both bills weaken the constitutional protection of conceived life under Article 38, which the Constitutional Tribunal applied in 2020. They argue that a disability or illness should not lessen the legal protection of a child before birth, and that ending penalties for helping with abortion would shield paid intermediaries. They say the state's duty is to give women and families real help, and that the bills create a risk of abuse without enough guarantees for women's safety.

  In their words: Sejm of the Republic of Poland, transcript of Anna Milczanowska (PiS), Oct. 20, 2026 ↗

• Pass both bills

  Who holds it: Civic Coalition (KO), the Left, most Poland 2050 and some PSL deputies; Sejm Speaker Włodzimierz Czarzasty

  Supporters say the state should trust women and stop prosecuting the relatives, partners, friends and doctors who help them. Restoring the fetal-anomaly ground would spare women from carrying pregnancies with fatal or severe defects against their will, as was allowed before 2021. They say these are the changes the current Sejm can pass, and that each step brings Polish women closer to full rights over their own lives. They urge the president to sign at least one bill.

  In their words: Politico Europe, quoting Katarzyna Kotula, Barbara Nowacka and Włodzimierz Czarzasty ↗