I plan on getting the scoop from my Polish cousin, but for now, we’ll rely on this web site for the news from Poland:
[L]awmakers in Poland have cast an initial vote in favor of legislation that would ban all abortions in that country…
In an open letter to the country’s lawmakers, a group of Polish “women journalists” said that the measure would help to restore moral order to the nation, adding that a vote for the bill “would be a vote for the protection of women, and the protection of their relationship with their children. It would also be a vote for the restoration of dignity and respect for motherhood. It would be in the interest not only of women and children, but also of fathers, families, and all of society.”
by 
I usually just lurk here, but since this is about Poland…
My uninformed-Pole’s opinion is that, unless there’s a miracle, this won’t work. Here’s a lengthy legal explanation why. And if it’s too long, just scroll down to the last part, for the conclusion.
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In Poland people can put forward bill proposals. The condition is that at least 100 000 signatures be collected in support of that proposal. This one has approx. 450 000, signatures (apparently).
The vote that was cast recently was about whether the Parliament should just scrap the proposal at once. The proposal won’t be scrapped. It will, instead, be sent to a parliamentary committee or a number of committees (which is the normal procedure for all proposed bills, including those proposed by MPs themselves).
It may stay there for some time. The committee(s) will analyse the bill proposal, formulate it’s own recommendation and possibly suggest changes. Eventually, the bill will be read again, with the committee analysis and recommendation, in the lower house of parliament (Sejm). A vote will be cast then and Sejm will decide whether it passes the bill and, if yes, with what modifications. In order for the bill to pass, more MPs have to be for than against.
Then it will be voted on by the upper hose (Senat). The house can either pass the bill onwards to the president, send it back to the Sejm with suggestions of modifications or pass it back to the Sejm with an indication that it disagrees with the bill.
If the bill is returned to the lower house (Sejm), i.e. it doesn’t have adequate support at the Senat, it can still be passed, provided that – at another vote – more people support it than are against it and withhold their vote.
If the bill IS passed by the Senat, the president can either sign it, send it to the Constitutional Tribunal (which will decide whether the bill is constitutionally sound), or veto it. If the president does veto, the Sejm CAN still pass the bill despite the president’s “protest” but now 3/5 of MPs have to support the bill.
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The problem is that this is apparently a “people’s initiative”, not officially introduced by any party, let alone the ruling one. While that is actually good for the bill’s image, based on how the Polish parliament looks right now (and is likely to look after the upcoming elections), I don’t expect the bill to get enough support to actually pass. There would have to be a strong parliamentary majority by a party/coalition that openly declares it’s pro-life and got elected that way (so that it wouldn’t be afraid of loosing its electorate). I know of none that is sufficiently popular and unabashedly pro-life at the same time to pull that off. So any party voting yes is basicaly risking part of its political capital.
Then again I COULD be wrong… Which would make me happy…
As a Pole living abroad, I find this highly embarrassing.