THE SCOPE OF THE LEGALITY OF PERFORMING ABORTIONS IN THE POLISH CONSTITUTION IN CONNECTION WITH THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT’S VERDICT OF OCTOBER 22, 2020.

<ns3:p>The paper discusses the legal possibilities of the scope of legality of performing abortion in Poland and the support for such a solution among the public on the basis of polls conducted by IPSOS, CBOS, as well as IBRiS. The purpose of the article was to verify the hypothesis that the Polish Constitution does not define the scope of the legality of women’s abortions and gives the legislature the possibility to liberalize abortion law without the need to change the highest legal act in Poland. The article cites the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights and the opinions of non-governmental organizations such as the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, the Stefan Batory Foundation and the Iustitia Association of Polish Judges, which point to procedural flaws in the ruling of October 22, 2020. Constitutional Court. The article cites the opinions of Constitutionalists such as Prof. Ewa Łętowska, Prof. Andrzej Zoll, Prof. Lech Garlicki. Based on the analysis, it was proved that the Constitution does not regulate the scope of the legality of performing abortions in Poland, and that the judgments of the 2020 Constitutional Court and the 1997 Constitutional Court cannot be an unambiguous determinant of the interpretation of abortion law. In the first case, due to procedural defects resulting from the improper appointment of some judges. In the second case, the judgment was made before the Constitution came into force, and the Court had no authority to resolve general questions of a philosophical, religious or medical nature, as these are matters beyond the knowledge of the judges and the competence of the courts. It is therefore possible to liberalize the abortion law through amendments to the law rather than the Constitution. Surveys have shown that the majority of the public supports the liberalization of the abortion law, which should prompt the legislature to change the law and fulfill the will of the majority of citizens.</ns3:p>