Polish Parliament Halts Bid to Further Restrict Abortion

Poland's parliament on Friday abandoned a proposal to restrict abortion in the case of congenital disorders in the heavily Catholic country.

Four hundred thousand Poles signed a petition demanding the move, but lawmakers rejected it on the first reading with 233 votes against, 182 in favor and six abstentions in the 460-seat parliament.

Abortion is only allowed in Poland when the pregnancy threatens the life of the mother, in cases of rape and incest, and for congenital disorders. The proposal would have further tightened one of the most restrictive laws of its type in Europe.

Poland's conservative opposition allied with the influential Roman Catholic church had backed the move.

Parliament also rejected a similar proposal by Catholic lawmakers in October 2012.

Women who undergo abortions are not subject to prosecution, but anyone performing them risks a maximum of two years behind bars.

Women's rights organizations say up to 180,000 illegal abortions are performed annually in the EU country of 38 million people.

Official statistics show just several hundred legal abortions are carried out in Poland each year.