Poles overwhelmingly against gay marriage

Polish law does not punish women who have an abortion, but medical staff who carry it out can face two years in prison.

WARSAW, March 23, 2010 (AFP) - An overwhelming majority of Poles oppose gay marriage, according to a survey published Tuesday in the deeply Catholic nation.

A total of 79 percent of those surveyed were against legalising marriage of homosexuals, the poll by the GfK Polonia institute for the daily newspaper Rzeczpospolita showed.

Only 16 percent said they supported it.

The survey of a representative sample of 979 people was carried out from March 4 to 8.

It found that opposition to adoption of children by gay couples was even stronger: 93 percent were against the idea, and only five percent were in favour.

The survey suggested that attitudes towards homosexuality have grown tougher in Poland, where more than 90 percent of the 38.5-million-strong population declares themselves to be Roman Catholic.

A similar poll by GfK Polonia last July found that 75 percent were against the legalisation of homosexual marriage and 87 percent opposed adoption.

In its latest poll, GfK Polonia also asked about abortion, which is tightly controlled in Poland.

It found that 59 percent of those surveyed would approve a termination in "certain circumstances", and five percent without conditions. Thirty-four percent were opposed.

Polish law does not punish women who have an abortion, but medical staff who carry out or facilitate terminations can face a two-year prison sentence.

A pregnancy can be terminated only if it results from rape or incest, poses a health risk to the mother or if the foetus is severely deformed. However, even in such conditions, hospitals are known to refuse abortions.