Conservative head of state Andrzej Duda on Friday vetoed legislation aimed at liberalizing access to the morning-after pill, currently authorized in Poland only on medical prescription, the presidency announced. Poland saw a decline in women's reproductive rights during the eight years of rule by the populist nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party, with access to emergency contraception made possible only by a doctor's prescription in 2017. Duda decided to
“return the amendment to the law on pharmaceutical products to Parliament asking it to re-examine the law (veto)”
, indicates the press release from the presidency.
Protection of children's health
The pro-EU coalition, in power since December, had adopted a bill aimed at allowing access to the morning-after pill from the age of 15. The head of state justified his refusal by respecting standards for protecting children's health. Andrej Duda
“cannot accept legal solutions allowing children under the age of eighteen to have access to contraceptive medications without medical supervision and without taking into account the role and responsibility of parents
,” the press release specifies.
“It’s a shame that the president is once again turning against the Poles
,” Deputy Minister of Education Katarzyna Lubnauer immediately commented on X.
Anticipating the presidential veto, the government had already announced that it would circumvent this obstruction by authorizing pharmacists to issue prescriptions for the pill.
“We have prepared a regulation (...) This pill will be available on pharmaceutical prescription”
, delivered by a pharmacist, declared Wednesday the Minister of Health, Izabela Leszczyna.
“If we don’t want women and young girls to experience unwanted pregnancies, let’s do everything to make the pill as accessible as possible
,” starting May 1, she told RMF FM radio. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), emergency contraception should be
“systematically included”
in all national family planning programs.