Polish lawmakers OK morning-after pill for ages 15 and over in a first step to ease reproductive law

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s lawmakers have voted to approve over-the-counter access to the morning-after pill for ages 15 and above in a step to liberalize Poland’s strict reproductive law inherited from the previous nationalist conservative government. The vote Thursday was the first step in the plans of the new pro-European Union government to loosen the anti-abortion and anti-contraception law which is among Europe’s toughest. The morning-after pill is currently available only by prescription. Abortion is legal only when the pregnancy threatens the woman’s health or results from rape. The strict law has had a chilling effect on Poland’s doctors. The new contraception regulations still need approval from the Senate which is expected to grant it and from President Andrzej Duda.