Poland resists pressure for abortion ban

Poland's conservative leaders, Lech and Jaroslaw Kaczynski, have rejected pressure from their ultra-nationalist allies to introduce a blanket ban on abortions in the overwhelmingly Roman Catholic country.

Poland already has one of Europe's toughest abortion laws but the League of Polish Families, junior members in the ruling coalition, want abortions outlawed even in cases of rape or when the mother's health is threatened.

"I am for keeping the status quo," Polish President Lech Kaczynski was quoted as saying by media on Friday. "The compromise reached on abortion 13 years ago is good."

Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski echoed his brother's words, saying he wanted to avoid another storm over abortion.

Polish politicians on the left and right and Catholic bishops reached a broad consensus to restrict abortion after communism fell in 1989 to cases of rape and incest or serious health risks to the mother or foetus.

The League wants a total ban and suggested a change in the constitution.

"A child should not be punished for the crimes of his father," League deputy Marek Kotlinowski told Reuters, referring to cases of rape. "It's a tragedy for the woman. But the fate of the child interests me more."

Some backbenchers in the Kaczynskis' Law and Justice party also supported a ban but after a clear signal from the brothers that they do not endorse the idea, the measure is likely to be defeated in a vote.

The Kaczynskis, known for their conservative views on homosexuality and the death penalty, raised eyebrows in May when they formed a coalition with the League, which is more orthodox in defending Catholic values than the country's bishops.

Source:tvnz.co.nz