Polish parliament rejects outlawing IVF
AFP
WARSAW- Poland's lower house of parliament on Thursday rejected a law drafted by Roman Catholics that would have criminalised in vitro fertilisation (IVF).
The proposed legislation, drafted by the "Contra in vitro" Catholic citizen's group which gathered the required 160,000 signatures, was rejected by 244 MPs to 162 with 10 abstentions.
The draft law called for "all people whose actions lead to in vitro fertilisation" to be subject to a penalty of up to three years in prison.
The issue has divided Polish politicians and Poland's powerful Roman Catholic church has categorically condemned IVF.
Polish bishops have termed IVF "a sophisticated form of abortion" as the method "causes numerous embryos to perish" with each attempt.
Archbishop Henryk Hoser has gone so far as to describe supporters of IVF as "moral schizophrenics."
After the 1989 collapse of communism in Poland, the Roman Catholic church lobbied for and succeeded in obtaining a ban on abortion, which is now punishable by up to two years in prison for anyone involved in an abortion except for the pregnant woman herself.
Abortion is permitted only in cases of rape, incest or severe birth defects.
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