- Emergency contraception, i.e. the so-called Morning-after pills have been available since July 2017 only by prescription
- Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced on January 15 this year that they are to be available without a prescription
- He announced that the government would propose changing the law on this matter
Change in pharmaceutical law
The essence of the solutions proposed in the amendment to the Pharmaceutical Law is to repeal the provision that introduced an excessive restriction, thus restoring the situation before July 2017.
The justification for the project stated that in 2017, a solution was introduced which, in a top-down, forceful manner, which did not correspond to the already existing marketing authorizations for the medicinal product and the documentation related to this procedure, forced the availability category “issued with a doctor’s prescription – Rp”.
On Wednesday, the ministers will also consider Information from the Minister, member of the Council of Ministers, Maciej Berek, on draft laws submitted to the Sejm by the government from November 21 to December 8, 2023.
The morning-after pill should be available without a prescription
The deputy head of the New Left, Joanna Scheuring-Wielgus, was asked on Wednesday on Radio Zet about this project. She said she was keeping her fingers crossed for him.
– The morning-after pill should be available without a prescription and I hope that no one in our coalition will have a problem voting for it – she noted.
– I heard (Szymon) Hołownia who spoke positively about this project. So perhaps here, in the case of the morning-after pill, this problem will not exist, but I always appeal to my colleagues from Poland 2050 and PSL to really listen to what people and their voters say: they want liberalization of abortion law, they want rights women fully, and not some kind of referendum, she added.
– Abroad, morning-after pills are available without a prescription in pharmacies, she said. – My son is now 26 years old, so 28 years ago I took such a pill for free, when I was working illegally (…) in London. I used such a pill as a person who came to work illegally in England for the holidays. No problem, she said.
She referred to the statement that the morning-after pill may pose a health risk, especially to young women, causing hormonal disorders. – This is not true – she replied. She emphasized that the pills have been tested and are taken by women all over the world.
She also referred to the statement that when the tablets become available, they will be treated by teenagers like Tic-Tacs.
– They will not. Women are not idiots (…). We do not treat issues related to our sexuality (…) purely for fun, Scheuring-Wielgus pointed out.
She was asked what will happen if Polska 2050 or PSL objects, in the context of Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s statement from a few weeks ago, who said that first we will think about an act that will change certain regulations, and if not, we will think about a regulation.
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