On October 22, 2020, in a plenary session, the Polish constitutional court ruled that abortion on grounds of impairment or illness of the unborn child is a violation of the Polish constitutional right to life. Simultaneously, the court called for the government to do more to support sick and disabled children and their families.
This decision would affect any abortions performed due to a “severe and irreversible malformation” of the fetus or an «incurable or life-threatening disease”.
By rendering this historical decision, the court upheld the basic principle that all human life must be protected, starting from conception, and that this basis takes precedent over health concerns. The ruling cited an official document from the United Nations Disability Rights Council in 2018: “Laws that explicitly allow for abortion on grounds of impairment violate the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Art. 4.5 and 8) ».
This judgment will become effective once published in the Journal Officiel, which is an oficial and daily publication of the Polish Governement to inform all citizens about legal texts.
