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Gov't body 'not consulted' over Pro Life bill

PR dla Zagranicy
Roberto Galea 07.11.2016 09:33
The head of the government's Social Dialogue Council said she was not consulted over the Pro-Life bill which was passed by parliament last week.
Photo: Pexels.comPhoto: Pexels.com

“The government did not pass on the Pro-Life draft to the Council, which prevented us from consulting on the matter,” the Council's head, Henryka Bochniarz, wrote in a letter to Prime Minister Beata Szydło.

Bochniarz wrote that this issue gives another example of “further signs of violations of the principles of social dialogue, including infringement of consultations on draft legislation by the government.”

The Council was set up in 2015 by President Andrzej Duda, and comprises of several experts in the field to consult the government on social issues.

The government has not commented on the letter.

The bill, which was passed by parliament last Friday, includes a one-off PLN 4,000 (EUR 900) payout for women who give birth to a child which is severely disabled or has an incurable terminal illness.

The bill includes providing birth parents, legal guardians and care givers with palliative or rehabilitative care for children with medically certified illnesses, psychological care, cheaper medication, priority access to medical care and help with specific needs such as housing.

The government plans to introduce the programme by 31 December.

'Support to families'

PM Szydło said she hoped that the programme will offer enough support to families raising disabled children to stop terminations of complicated pregnancies.

Szydło first mentioned the programme after parliament threw out a controversial citizens' bill proposing a total ban on abortion and jail time for women who had terminations.

Deputies voted against the anti-abortion bill after women in cities throughout Poland took to the streets in a so-called Black Protest. (rg)

Source: PAP

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