Abortion, "big" politics and the presidential election

It is unclear, however, whether even the most perfect project would be supported by PSL deputies, since one of them (specifically Tadeusz Samborski) has stated - also publicly - that Poland's demographic situation and the low fertility rate of Polish women were behind his decision to vote against it, while the leader of the People's Party, Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, declares that the only project he can support is the one submitted by the Third Way clubs, reinstating the so-called abortion compromise.

The MPs are off on vacation, but it does not seem that in a few weeks emotions (because they rule, unfortunately, this topic) can subside. One can even assume that, on the contrary, the frustration that undoubtedly appeared in the Civic Coalition and the Left (especially, although this is said to be even more strongly true of the TD-Polska2050 club, which supported depenalization almost unanimously, while falling both on MPs and on party leader Szymon Holownia the odium of the people's attitude) immediately after the vote can only grow. Fueled, in a way, by the unambiguous message of Donald Tusk, who explicitly stated that in this Sejm, projects liberalizing anti-abortion laws have no chance. The project of the Holownia and Kosiniak-Kamysz clubs has a chance, but this compromise is not wanted by anyone but them.

- Emotions can blow the coalition apart," warns Giertych, who, after all, has, in a way, stoked the fire, or at least blown it hard. He may be right many times over, especially since, as it were, in the midst of disputes over abortion projects (a powerful question mark arises over the meaning of the work of the Extraordinary Commission, which is proceeding a total of three projects - the Left, the Civic Coalition and the Third Way) there will be topics directly related to "big" politics, i.e. next year's presidential elections. Abortion will be, here there is no doubt, one of the axes of division in the presidential campaign, but how will it play out and will it most sharply divide the currently ruling camp? Szymon Holownia must be aware of this, and Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz's declaration that the incumbent Speaker of the Sejm will be (is) the Third Way's common candidate for the presidency - a declaration quite unexpected, made exactly on the day of the first protest since the October 15 elections by women who came to the Sejm to express their disapproval... enraged simply. You can bet euros against nuts that Holownia would have given a lot for the coalition partner, at least temporarily, to refrain from such declarations.

Is any positive scenario possible? The bill decriminalizing assisted abortion could (should) simply be amended. So that there are no provisions in it that were questionable even in the Civic Coalition club. Perhaps it needs a new face - not necessarily Roman Giertych. Of course, it would be optimal if such a project could be prepared by the Ministry of Justice. This effort, the effort to reach an agreement on this particular issue, decriminalization and decriminalization, would have to be taken on by the coalition leaders, first and foremost by the prime minister. Even at the price of agreeing that no work on liberalizing the abortion law beyond the established framework will be undertaken in this term of the Sejm.