PiS split over possible anti-abortion amendments

Yesterday Marek Jurek, PiS member and the Sejm speaker who spearheads the initiative, said the party was in a "moral impasse". Jurek called on the prime minister to clearly declare his support for the amendment, and accused the leaders of the parliamentary party of deliberate delays. With the support of LPR deputies, he dismissed his colleague Jadwiga Wisniewska from the chairmanship of the special parliamentary committee working on the amendment saying she was obstructing its progress. Jurek's intervention caused fury among PiS loyalists, fuelling rumors that he may be deposed as Sejm speaker. The committee should finish its work at the meeting after next, paving the way for a vote in the Sejm. However, the chance of the amendment passing in the house are slim, especially given the skeptical stance of Civic Platform. Constitutional amendments need two thirds of the votes in the Sejm to pass. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 4) R.M.