A significant majority of Poles, 63 percent (including 41 percent decidedly), are against liberalizing access to abortion for women who “simply do not want to have a child,” according to the latest research by the Public Opinion Research Center (CBOS), cited by the Catholic Information Agency (KAI),
This data comes as the Polish parliament, the Sejm, is set to consider bills that would permit abortion up to the 12th week of pregnancy without requiring a specific reason. In recent months, the Sejm has seen several proposed abortion-related bills. Speaker of the Sejm Szymon Hołownia has announced that these proposals will be deliberated during the parliamentary session scheduled for April.
CBOS’ latest survey also shows increased support for the liberalization of abortion laws in extreme cases, such as when the life or health of the woman is at risk or in instances of rape or incest. However, the majority of the Polish population remains opposed to enacting laws that grant the right to “abortion on demand” or for socio-economic reasons.
Poles against abortion for economic reasons or when the mother “simply does not want” a child
The poll reveals that a majority of Poles remain strongly against abortion in a number of key areas, including for economic reasons or when a woman simply does not desire to have a child.
The data shows that only about one-third of respondents, 29 percent, wish for the law to allow abortion in cases of severe financial or personal hardship. Only 12 percent strongly support this stance, with an additional 17 percent somewhat in agreement. Furthermore, only 12 percent of participants believe abortion should be an option when a woman “simply does not want to have a child,” with 17 percent somewhat agreeing. A decisive 41 percent of respondents strongly oppose abortion under these circumstances, with another 22 percent somewhat opposed, totaling 63 percent against.
In cases where the health or life of the mother is threatened, two-thirds of adult Poles (66 percent) believe abortion should be legally permitted, with another 26 percent somewhat agreeing. The next most supported scenario for legal abortion is in cases of rape or incest, with 62 percent strongly in favor and 25 percent somewhat in favor. According to CBOS, a majority of Poles also support abortion when the mother’s health is at risk (57 percent strongly and 30 percent somewhat in favor).
The situation is different regarding the 2021 Constitutional Tribunal ruling on severe fetal impairment, which sparked nationwide women’s strikes. Following this ruling, nearly two-fifths of respondents (39 percent) strongly support the legality of abortion in such cases, with another 29 percent less decisively in favor. Those opposed to abortion under these circumstances are in the minority (19 percent), and 14 percent are undecided — this represents the highest percentage of indecision among all surveyed scenarios, as noted by KAI.
