Polish parliament drops abortion vote
The Polish parliament voted Tuesday not to consider a controversial bill allowing abortion up to 12 weeks into pregnancy.
The bill had been proposed by the ruling Democratic Left Alliance but was fiercely opposed by the Church, conservative groups and large sections of the public in this fiercely Roman Catholic country.
The bill would have also made sex education a separate subject in junior high schools and allowed minors to seek abortions without parental consent.
Consideration of the bill was defeated by 199 votes to 183.
Poland has some of the most restrictive anti-abortion laws in Europe. Abortion is banned unless the fetus is seriously damaged, the mother's life is threatened or if the pregnancy was caused by rape or incest.
Pope John Paul II, who is Polish, is widely revered by the Polish public. The pope has always taken a strongly conservative position on abortion as well as contraception.