Polish anti-abortion law

The ruling social democrats will try to relax Poland's tough anti-abortion law after the country joins the European Union, a party official said yesterday.

"Our bill will aim to protect women's right to decide about their parenthood," Jolanta Banach, a candidate for the party leadership, told reporters - a statement certain to appal the Roman Catholic church and Polish-born Pope John Paul.

Predominantly Roman Catholic Poland and Ireland have the strictest anti-abortion laws in Europe. In Poland, an abortion is allowed only when pregnancy threatens a woman's life or results from rape, or if the foetus is damaged.

The Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) promised to give women safe access to abortion in its 2001 general election campaign, but later put the issue on the backburner, a move politicians said was made to keep good relations with the church.

But the SLD now wants to focus on issues such as abortion, protection of sexual minorities and women's rights to regain its core leftist support after seeing its popularity ratings plunge to 12 per cent from 42 per cent in 2001, one politician said.

It is not clear whether her bill will get through parliament, as the SLD is several votes short of a majority, and President Aleksander Kwasniewski could veto it.

Local media say there is a flourishing backstreet abortion industry and "abortion tourism" to other countries.