Polish lawmakers on July 12 rejected a bill that sought to scrap penalties for people who help a woman get an abortion.

Soon after the vote, Tusk, who is also the leader of Poland's main ruling coalition partner, the Civic Coalition (KO), announced the suspension of KO MPs Roman Giertych and Waldemar Slugocki after they abstained from voting on the bill.

“Today I signed the dismissal of Minister Sługocki from his post,” the prime minister told reporters after Tuesday’s cabinet meeting.

“It has turned out to be an illusion that supporters of liberalizing abortion laws constitute a majority in the Sejm (Polish Parliament). No, we are a minority in this Sejm,” he said.

“The Law and Justice Party, Confederation, the majority of the PSL – this is the majority in this Sejm today, and therefore statutorily it is difficult to bring about any changes here,” Tusk added.

The draft amendment is the first of four bills proposing changes to the law regarding abortion currently under consideration. Two of the remaining bills, now under review by the commission, propose to legalize abortion on request.

No hard feelings

According to Sługocki, his absence in the parliament during the vote was due to a business trip to the U.S. which was planned a few months earlier. He also took to social media pointing out his support for abortion decriminalization efforts.

In an interview with the Onet news website conducted after his dismissal, Sługocki said: “Work in public life, as you can see, is not certain. No one knows the moment when it may end.”