In her pharmacy in the center of Warsaw, Beata is categorical: “I have many requests for pharmaceutical prescriptions for the morning after pill”says this pharmacist, who prefers to remain anonymous. This emergency contraception that the national conservatives of PiS (Law and Justice), in power in Poland between 2015 and 2023, had conditioned a medical prescription, now, since 1Ahem May, available with a pharmaceutical prescription in a thousand establishments nationwide. In theory, a woman aged 15 or older can obtain it without further paperwork. In practice, it is not so simple: Beata, like other pharmacists, asks minors to return to one of their parents.
The center-right government of Donald Tusk, in power since December 2023, had to resort to a ministerial decree in this regard to circumvent the veto of President Andrzej Duda, close to PiS. He opposed a law that would allow the morning-after pill to be available without a prescription to people over 15 years of age. Beata highlights, however, the limits of the Ministry of Health’s pilot project: “Voluntary pharmacies must have a room to conduct interviews of a few minutes with patients. And during rush hours, when I’m alone, it’s complicated. »
The coalition government may have ended eight years of dismantling the rights of women and LGBT+ people, but it is fundamentally diverse. The parties it brings together, from the left to conservative agrarians, remain deeply divided on social issues. Flagship projects announced during the fall 2023 election campaign, such as a civil union open to homosexuals or the liberalization of abortion, have not yet been voted on. An attempt to decriminalize assisted abortion in July in the Lower House was even sabotaged by deputies allied with Donald Tusk, some openly opposed to the interruption of pregnancy (abortion).
Stormy coexistence
Even when both houses of Parliament agree, the presidential veto obstacle remains, due to the lack of a large enough majority to override it. It is recurrent, in this period of stormy coexistence. Notable exceptions: the treatment of in vitro fertilization and a new definition of rape, which will come into force in February 2025. The text modifies a century-old article of the penal code to introduce the notion of consent. “It’s about time and while this is a real change for the better, it is not enough. “We need to raise awareness among prosecutors and judges.”says Antonina Lewandowska, national advocacy coordinator for Federa, the Polish Foundation for Women and Family Planning.
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