The lower house of the Polish parliament on Thursday passed a law liberalizing access to “morning after pills”, the use of which was restricted by the previous conservative populist government, AFP reports.

are protesting in Poland against the law banning abortions after the death of another pregnant womanPhoto: Wojtek RADWANSKI / AFP / Profimedia

The law will allow women over the age of 15 to get an over-the-counter morning-after pill.

The law, which still has to be adopted by the Senate and signed by the conservative president, was approved by 224 deputies, and 196 voted against.

The vote comes after Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government approved a bill in January to restore access to over-the-counter emergency contraception, reversing restrictions imposed by the previous nationalist government in 2017.

Legislation in 2017 severely restricted access to the “morning-after” pills, which became available over the counter in 2015 after the European Commission decided to allow them to be sold without a prescription.

Poland’s ruling coalition has vowed to reverse some of the policies of the former Law and Justice (PiS) party government, including one of Europe’s most restrictive abortion rules, to bring Poland back to European Union democratic standards.