Polish MPs have held a landmark debate on whether the state should give women the right to abortion on demand for the first time in more than 30 years.

The Catholic faith remains strong in Poland and many expected the debate to provoke strong, perhaps stormy emotions.

But many MPs didn’t take the time to turn up and listen.

Few MPs for the right-wing opposition attended, while there were also any absences from government members.

Women comprise just 29% of parliamentarians in Poland’s lower house, the Sejm, but the speakers during the debate were mostly women.

MPs debated liberalising one of the EU’s most restrictive abortion laws. The procedure is only permissible when the pregnancy endangers a woman’s health or when it results from rape or incest.

Many opinion polls have shown growing support for increased access to abortion, especially on medical and criminal grounds, but politicians have been reluctant to act.

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