(LifeSiteNews) — On April 30, Polish President Karol Nawrocki vetoed a government bill that would have permitted married couples without minor children to secure a divorce at a civil registry without going to court, stating that the legislation would “diminish the status” of marriage and be “socially harmful.”
The law, passed on March 13, would have amended the Family and Guardianship Code and permitted couples who had been married for at least a year, had no minor children (including unborn children), no separate court proceedings related to the separation, and mutual agreement to no-fault divorce, to obtain a divorce more easily.
The legislation is part of Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s broader family law modernization agenda, and the government stated that it would reduce court backlogs and save time and money. Tusk became prime minister in December 2023 at the head of a pro-EU coalition after eight years in power for Law and Justice, a socially conservative party.
Conservative legislators voted against the bill on the grounds that it undermined the institution of marriage and violates the constitution, which specifically articulates that the institution of marriage is “under the protection and care of the Republic of Poland.”
“Marriage is not simply an entry in a register,” Nawrocki stated. “Marriage is one of the foundations of social life. It is the foundation of the family, the foundation of raising children, the foundation of the national community. This bill is not a technical change. It diminishes the status of an institution explicitly protected by the constitution.”
Nawrocki added that making divorce easier “will encourage people to treat marriage as merely a trial relationship” and could discourage having children due to eligibility for a no-court, no-fault divorce being limited to couples without children, who might be “an obstacle to its easy dissolution.”
Tusk has been attempting to force through a radical progressive agenda since taking power, including an illegal attack on Poland’s pro-life laws. He has openly stated that in order to counteract the policies of his conservative predecessors, he must commit “actions that may be inconsistent with the letter of the law” and has invoked the concept of “militant democracy” to defend his totalitarian tactics, which includes the arrest of political opponents and ideological purges of institutions.
However, in what was widely seen as a significant rebuke — and political setback — to Tusk’s ongoing revolution, Law and Justice candidate Karol Nawrocki won the presidential election in June 2025. Nawrocki ran on a pro-life and pro-family platform, and his victory was described as a “devastating blow” for abortion activists in Poland. The Polish president has veto power over legislation that can only be overridden by a three-fifths majority.
