Government and President could be heading for a conflict over abortion law

President Aleksander Kwasniewski on Saturday threw his weight behind the conservative abortion law despite mounting pressure from his political allies to liberalize the legislation. The law restricted access to abortion in 1997 to women who were raped, or in cases where fetal problems could endanger the mother's life. Asked if he believed an abortion referendum was needed, Kwasniewski told reporters: "The present abortion law works...We should take a different approach, that of sex education, contraceptives and marital responsibility," said Kwasniewski, in the southern mountain resort of Zakopane where he was holding talks with Croat President Stjepane Mesic. Earlier on Saturday, Sejm Marshall Marek Borowski, (an SLD member) called for a nationwide referendum on whether to legalize abortion. The new Health Minister Marek Balicki is also a proponent of wider access to abortion. (Reuters) A.K.