Under the new rules, abortion in Poland is legal only in two scenarios – if the pregnancy threatens the mother’s life and health, or if a woman becomes pregnant after rape or incest.
Small protests rallied late Wednesday after an announcement that PiS would take the official step of enforcing the ruling immediately, and abortion rights activists announced more would take place Thursday.
Abortion has emerged as one of the most divisive issues since PiS’s rule in 2015, promising poorer, older and less educated Poles to return to a traditional society mixed with generous welfare policies.
The court’s ruling was published in the official newspaper late Wednesday.
“This idiotic verdict will not prevent abortions,” said Cezary Jasiński, a 23-year-old student, in front of the Constitutional Tribunal building in central Warsaw.
“But for every woman who will experience pain as a result of this verdict, or be forced to give birth to a child with Down’s syndrome, they (court judges) will be blamed.”
Last year’s protests quickly turned into an outburst of anger against the government, especially among young people, suggesting that PiS may face a new challenge of new voters in the coming year.
On Wednesday, officials said the government will now focus on assisting parents of disabled children, although PiS as well as its centrist predecessors are accused by critics of not doing enough in this regard.
“The state can no longer take away a life just because someone is sick, disabled, with poor health,” said Bartlomiej Wroblewski, PiS legislator.
The party denies criticism of opposition for influencing the court, called the Constitutional Tribunal. It is one of the legal bodies that PiS overhauled during reforms, which according to the European Union politicized the courts.
“No law-abiding government should respect this ruling,” Borys Budka, leader of Poland’s largest opposition party, the centrist civilian platform, told reporters.
Access to abortion has declined, even without the legislation, as more doctors refuse to perform it on religious grounds and many women abroad seek abortions.
In a justification published on Wednesday, the tribunal leaves open the possibility that parliament should regulate certain circumstances covered by the law.
Marek Suski, a lawmaker from PiS, said the party would consider introducing new rules that could rule out extreme fetal malformations. But political commentators say it would be difficult to reach consensus between PiS and its arch-conservative allies.
“In cases where the fetus does not have a skull or has no chance of living outside the womb, there must be a choice. We will work on this,” Suski told public radio.
Opinion polls have shown a decline in the popularity of PiS over the past few months, but an opinion poll by the CBOS poll showed that it has dropped to 35% this month, up from 30% in October. PiS and its two small parliamentary allies won re-election in 2019 with a 44% share.