On July 12, however, 24 PSL deputies voted against the easing of the abortion ban, as did all opposition MPs in the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish parliament, for a total of 218 deputies — while only 215 voted in favor of the bill. Three members of Tusk’s party didn’t cast ballots, including Sługocki, Krzysztof Grabczuk and Roman Giertych. Grabczuk was excused because he was in hospital, but Giertych was also removed from his post as vice-chairman of the KO parliamentary club.
The bill would have decriminalized the act of helping a woman obtain an abortion up to 12 weeks of pregnancy. Currently the offense can be punished by up to three years in jail.
Tusk on Tuesday expressed dismay that he hadn’t convinced a majority to vote for the bill. Despite his annoyance, he promised to do “everything I can” to ensure his coalition doesn’t fall apart over abortion.
