Referendum on Abortion in Poland. Submitted Proposals and Main Topics of the Debate

Abstract

Considerations undertaken in this article relate to requests to hold a referendum on abortion, which were submitted in the years 1989-2018. In the period covered by the research, the eligible entities submitted 7 initiatives, which in whole or in part concerned the postulate of conducting a nationwide referendum in the analyzed subject matter. Thus, regulation of legal principles for protection of a conceived child was an important point in the public debate and aroused great public interest. Importantly, the citizens themselves attempted to initiate a nationwide referendum. In this context, the question arises as to why, despite so many applications, the representatives have not decided to apply direct democracy procedures to the issue of admissibility of pregnancy termination? An attempt to refer to such a research problem was the goal of this research. The obtained research results indicate a signifi cant discrepancy between parties of the political dispute regarding permissibility of the referendum on abortion. Supporters of such a solution argue that this is the best way to resolve a public issue because of the direct involvement of the sovereign. In turn, opponents of the referendum indicate that the right to life is a natural human right and lasts from the conception to the natural death. Therefore, there is no way to limit it through a referendum.