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| Mass protests were held in cities across Poland on Monday against the citizens' bill (Reuters) |
Poland's parliament has voted overwhelmingly to dismiss a disputable citizens' bill for a near-total ban on abortion.
The government said that protests against the bill had given ministers "food for thought".
Poland already has among the tightest abortion laws in Europe, and the proposal sought to ban all abortions unless the mother's life was at risk.
MPs voted to reject the bill by 352 votes to 58.
The bill came from an anti-abortion citizens' initiative that gathered some 450,000 signatures. However, it was not sponsored by Poland's ruling, socially conservative Law and Justice party (PiS) and MPs were given a free vote.
Protests against the proposals were held in cities across Poland on Monday and appeared to prompt the PiS to swing against the bill.
Prime Minister Beata Szydlo distanced herself from a change to the law and Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Gowin moved to reassure women on Wednesday that a total ban would not get through. "Abortion will certainly not be banned when the woman is the victim of rape or if her life or her health is in danger," he insisted.
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