President's daughter says abortion decision should be left to woman's 'conscience'
The daughter of the Polish president has said that the decision of whether to continue or terminate a pregnancy when a baby is likely to die shortly after its birth should belong to the woman, since it is she who faces the consequences of her decision.
Taking to Twitter on Wednesday, Kinga Duda was reacting to a ruling by the Constitutional Tribunal (TK) last Thursday which found abortion due to foetal defects to be unconstitutional.
In her post, Kinga Duda wrote that “in accordance with her beliefs, she would not decide to terminate a pregnancy.”
She said that in accordance with her beliefs, she would not decide to terminate a pregnancy. "But I do not think that other women will think and act in the same way. Every human being has free will," she wrote.
"A choice but not coercion. (...),” she continued. “A decision whether to continue or terminate the pregnancy in this unimaginably difficult situation, in which the possibility of giving birth to a baby that is likely to die shortly after, should belong to a woman and should be taken by her in accordance with her own conscience and her own value system, since it is she who faces the consequences of her decision until the end of her life.”
The president's daughter explained that she had decided to present her opinions about the TK ruling because she believed that
Admitting that the current abortion compromise was, in her opinion, a wise solution, she called for MPs to settle the dispute.
"It seems to me that Polish MPs should as fast as possible find a wise compromise solution to the current situation, which could end the dispute caused by the verdict," she wrote.
Ms Duda added that she understood the fury of women angered by the TK ruling, but, at the same time, she wrote that the debate on the ruling seemed to have become a protest against everything.
Admitting that the current abortion compromise was, in her opinion, a wise solution, she called for MPs to settle the dispute.
Extreme actions, like, for instance, the destruction of property and churches or insulting people who do not share views expressed by the protesters, she said, were unacceptable.
The president's daughter explained that she had decided to present her opinions about the TK ruling because she believed that "persons having similar views as herself are not properly represented in this dispute."
Ms Duda added that she understood the fury of women angered by the TK ruling, but, at the same time, she wrote that the debate on the ruling seemed to have become a protest against everything.
The ruling follows a 2019 motion to the court by 119 MPs, mostly from the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, and disturbs an uneasy abortion compromise that has maintained a fragile balance between the opposing sides since the current law came into force in 1993.
Abortion is also allowed in Poland in cases where the pregnancy is a threat to the mother's life or health, or when the pregnancy is the result of rape.
