No present for the pope
When pope John Paul II returns to his native Poland for a visit on June 2, one element of the planned welcome will be missing: A new bill outlawing abortion in all cases (including rape and incest) with jail terms for the women and doctors involved.
Abortion has been available virtually on demand since 1956.
While right-wing and clerical forces have held sway in Poland's media, with parliamentarians making medieval contributions to the discussion of women's role in society (including serious questions about their right to vote and gain university educations) opinion polls have consistently shown a majority opposed to the bill.
On May 17, Polish legislators voted to delay a final vote on the bill until mid-June, when the pope will have left.
But while this reprieve is a victory of sorts, the danger to women's right to control their own bodies continues. It is well known that many Solidarity politicians are eager to find ways to repay the Catholic Church for its support of the underground movement against the Stalinist regime in the 1980s.
After the events of 1989, a series of anti-abortion bills made their way into parliament, all of which have been rejected, delayed or deferred. These attacks on the right to choose have caused a network of pro-choice groups to spring up around the country, the most well known of which is Pro Femina. Pro Femina demonstrations have been physically attacked by clerical forces.
Legal steps restricting abortions have already come into effect: in voting to delay the major bill until after the pope's visit, legislators approved a compromise resolution calling for existing liberal abortion regulations to be tightened.
The resolution, proposed by the Solidarity Democratic Union party, was adopted on a vote of 208 to 145, with 14 abstentions. Approval of this resolution blocked a proposal for a national referendum on the issue.
The non-binding resolution asks the government to forbid private doctors from carrying out abortions on demand. The Democratic Union announced it would prepare by mid-June a set of regulations to enforce this resolution.
Earlier this year, the government, which subsidises prescription drugs, voted to make Polish women pay market prices for birth control pills. (Not that these are easy to get: a lack of contraception in Poland has made abortion the main form of birth control, with an estimated 50% of pregnancies ending in terminations.)
Meanwhile, even in cases where abortion is legal, anti-abortion attitudes of medical staff in hospitals have reportedly made having an abortion a traumatic experience for many women. Nurses have been known to pass on names of women having abortions to Right to Life groups, which have then sent out "black anniversary cards".
Internationally, Poland has been a focus for Right to Life campaigners over the past few years. They are convinced that this is one country in which victory is almost certain.
While the anti-choice forces couch all their arguments in terms of the sacred rights of the foetus, their real agenda for the role of women in society is depressingly clear. Without access to abortion, millions of Polish women could be tied to unwanted pregnancies and a social world confined by the limits of the family home. In the context of rising unemployment, such a revision of women's role is rather convenient for Poland's new social planners.
But there is something positive in the new situation: As the economic situation in Poland worsens, a sense that the population has a huge unpaid debt to the church is beginning to wane. Recent reports show that while the church's popularity is still high, there has been a steady erosion.
If that's true, Polish legislators may begin to feel less inclined to dish up presents for the pope at the cost of women's rights.
By Tracy Sorensen