WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s new parliament on Wednesday reinstated government funding for in vitro fertilization, previously banned by the conservative party which lost control of the legislature in the country's recent general election.
Following a heated debate, lawmakers voted 268-118, with 50 abstentions, to guarantee state funding for IVF procedures, estimated at some 500 million zlotys ($125 million) a year.
Political Cartoons View All 1273 ImagesSome 22,000 children were born during the program’s existence, according to Health Ministry figures.
More than 100,000 children have been born through IVF since the procedure was first performed in Poland in 1987.
Wednesday's vote underlined the strength of the new centrist majority in parliament, following the Oct. 15 general election.
Persons:
—, Andrzej Duda, Duda, Marcin Mastelerek, Donald Tusk
Organizations:
Wednesday, Law, Health Ministry, European Union, Poland, EU
Locations:
WARSAW, Poland, Warsaw, Brussels