A decision on the morning-after pill will be made at the next session of the Sejm. The Confederation filed a motion during the second reading to reject the draft amendment to the Pharmaceutical Law, so the project must be dealt with by the Health Committee.
What's next for the morning-after pill?
Published Feb. 9, 2024 13:03
fot. Piotr Wójcik
On Thursday before noon - the first reading in the Health Committee and a two-hour, stormy, discussion. In the afternoon, the second reading in plenary and the temperature a good few degrees higher, with the same arguments.
On the one hand, Law and Justice and the Confederation, in a huge part of the statements, against the availability of the morning-after pill without a prescription. The reasons? It harms health and is unethical, because it only has a contraceptive effect in some cases, while in most cases it is an early abortifacient. Some Law and Justice deputies focused exclusively on the issue of the government's proposed age limit. In their view, 15 years old is too early for a child (who, by the way, according to the law, can legally have sex) to make the decision to take such a drug. One got the impression that these MPs would have raised their hand in favor of the bill if the age limit had been raised to 18. However, this is, presumably, just a political game (although it is not impossible that indeed some Law and Justice deputies, a notable minority, would have voted this way, just as part of the club voted in favor of funding in vitro from the state budget).
On the other hand, members of the October 15 Coalition clubs emphasized that the availability of emergency contraception is a European standard. In 25 countries it is sold without any formalities, in some - even in drugstores. This standard was taken away from Polish women by the Law and Justice government in 2017, whose health minister declared (as recalled by Bartosz Arlukowicz) that the morning-after pill would not even be prescribed to a raped woman. - That's what the election was about," Arlukovich thundered from the rostrum, reproaching PiS MPs for caring about the pill's side effects, but their government sent police with batons and tear gas against women.
- Emergency contraception, the so-called "morning-after pill," is used in cases of emergency. Here there is no time to visit the doctor, because, as we well know, the sooner a woman takes such a pill, the more likely it is to work. This is where time is of the essence. The general availability of the pill without a prescription can help reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies and subsequent tragedies associated with them," argued Jolanta Zięba-Gzik, speaking on behalf of PSL-TD.
Health Minister Izabela Leszczyna, responding to numerous questions from MPs, announced that an educational campaign on the safe use of emergency contraception will be prepared. She also announced the preparation of guidelines for pharmacies, which will also reinforce the issue of safety.
Whether the law will go into effect, however, is not a foregone conclusion. Representatives of the President's Office signal that Andrzej Duda's decision will be influenced by the age limit for the availability of the morning-after pill. If 15 years is maintained, a veto is very likely. If the limit would be raised - the president does not have to sign the bill either. Or - he can sign it and send it back to the TC (due to the incomplete composition of the Sejm, which is working with 458 members, without two former PiS deputies, Mariusz Kaminski and Maciej Wąsik).
