Poland's lower house of parliament, the Sejm, on Tuesday voted to allow abortion in cases of foetal abnormalities and to decriminalise providing help in getting an abortion, Reuters reported from Warsaw. According to vote tallies, the decriminalisation measure passed 217–213 and the foetal-anomaly bill passed 233–203, Particle News reported. The first bill, backed by the Civic Coalition and The Left, would remove prison sentences of up to three years for those who help perform the procedure; the second, advanced by Poland 2050 and the Polish People's Party, would reverse the effect of the 2020 Constitutional Tribunal ruling.

Poland, a predominantly Catholic country, introduced a near-total abortion ban in 2021 after the constitutional court ruled that terminations due to foetal abnormalities were unconstitutional — a decision that triggered widespread protests. Under the current law, abortion is only legal in cases involving rape or incest, or when a woman's health or life is at risk. Public-health data show legal abortions in public hospitals fell sharply after the 2020 ruling, with 851 procedures in 2025 and 573 in the first half of 2026, Particle News reported.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk's pro-European coalition won the 2023 election partly on a pledge to ease abortion restrictions, and his government has taken steps to expand access under existing regulations, including on mental-health grounds. But the legislation now goes to President Karol Nawrocki, a nationalist who has signalled he would block any liberalisation of the law — so the bills are almost certain to be vetoed, Reuters reported. Leah Hoctor, Vice President for Europe at the Center for Reproductive Rights, told Reuters the measures were 'very limited small-scale reform' that 'would not improve the situation for most women in Poland who need abortion care.'

A separate draft bill that would legalise abortion on request up to 12 weeks of pregnancy remains under consideration in parliamentary committees, so the wider debate is likely to continue regardless of what happens to Tuesday's votes.

Sources: Reuters, 'Polish lawmakers vote to ease abortion ban, but face likely presidential veto', 20 October 2026; Particle News, 'Poland's Parliament Passes Two Bills to Loosen Abortion Rules', 20 October 2026 (vote tallies and health data); Business News Today, 'Poland votes to ease abortion ban as President Nawrocki threatens veto', 20 October 2026.