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WARSAW, POLAND, September 2, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A total of 15 lawmakers from Poland’s governing coalition are being threatened with a fine for breaking with the party line and voting in favor of a bill that would have totally banned abortion

The bill was rejected by the Polish parliament earlier this week in a razor-thin 191-186 vote.

Before the vote, the largest governing coalition member, the Civic Platform (PO) Party, had ordered party discipline – something that it rarely does on ideological issues – forcing its members to reject the historic bill.

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However, 15 PO lawmakers bucked the party’s orders and voted in favor of the abortion ban anyway. Two others abstained.

“I voted against the rejection of the (bill) because it was a civic project supported by 600,000 citizens,” PO lawmaker Jacek Tomczak told LifeSiteNews (LSN). “As a conservative I could not vote against my conscience, especially as it concerned the right to life of the most innocent and defenseless human beings.”

In solidarity with Tomczak, PO colleague Miroslaw Pluta expressed continued support for all human life in spite of a possible $340 fine.

“In my opinion, party discipline should not be obligatory on ideological issues,” he said in an interview with LSN. “I am guided by the words uttered by Pope John Paul II in the (Polish) town of Nowy Targ on June 8, 1979: ‘Again I express the wish and I always pray for this, that the Polish family may beget life and may be faithful to the sacred right to life’”

Polish parliamentary elections are scheduled for October 9.  In anticipation of the elections, the PRO Foundation, the organization behind the abortion ban, says it will “certify” lawmakers and parliamentary candidates based on their pro-life, pro-family support.

“For those who support killing babies we will prepare a banner with their picture beside the picture of an aborted child saying that this particular candidate supports this procedure,” said Aleksandra Michalczyk of the PRO Foundation. “We want to ensure that the next Parliament will reflect Polish opinion on abortion, which, according to the (Polish) Center for Public Opinion Research, more than 80% of Poles oppose.”