There is a back-and-forth around the emergency contraceptive pill and parental consent.
On March 29, Polish President Andrzej Duda vetoed a bill that would have provided access to emergency contraception for those over the age of 15. The president justified his decision by respecting constitutional rights and protecting children's health, reports EurActiv .
The government then announced that they would bypass the presidential veto by allowing pharmacies to issue prescriptions for the birth control pill. However, the draft law on regulation has caused controversy.
The paper notes: in 2015, the European Medicines Agency decided that emergency contraception can be sold without a prescription. The European Commission, on the other hand, left the decision on the availability of the medicine to the member states. Poland allowed over-the-counter emergency contraception until 2017. The government formed by Law and Justice then introduced that only such drugs are given on prescription.
One of Donald Tusk's 2023 election promises was that one of the first hundred measures of the first hundred days would be to grant access to the contraceptive pill without a prescription for girls over the age of 15. The legislature accepted the regulation, but the president vetoed it.
The draft decree stipulates the availability of emergency contraception for people over the age of 15. The matter requires a consultation, which must be conducted with a pharmacist with at least one year of pharmacy experience. It would be possible to change the consultation and the contraceptive once every 30 days.
The presidential office justified the decision as follows:
"the president, especially listening to parents, cannot accept legal solutions that allow children under 18 to use contraceptives without medical supervision and ignore the role and responsibility of parents".
However, Health Minister Izabela Leszczyna stated on April 4 that she does not think parental consent is necessary.
Featured image: MTI/Sándor-palota/Róbert Érdi
