PIP: Poland's 1956 abortion law permitted abortion on demand without state control or reporting mechanisms. It has been estimated that this liberal law resulted in as many as 400,000 abortions in 1962 alone. After the Communist regime ended, a new law was passed in March 1993 to provide legal protection to "conceived children." This law allowed abortion only when the pregnancy constitutes a threat to the life or a serious threat to the health of the mother, the fetus is irreversibly damaged, or the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest. Opponents of this law predicted it would result in prosecution of a huge number of women and that it would have an adverse effect on maternal mortality rates. However, there have been only a few court cases to date, and maternal mortality is decreasing. The discussion surrounding this new law has resulted in growing awareness that the fetus is a human being rather than a mass of tissue. Interest in modern contraceptive methods is also increasing. Public opinion polls indicate that most Poles approve of abortions only in the cases indicated by the law and that only 42% of respondents also support availability of abortion for social reasons. However, a law passed in October 1996 will allow women to request abortions for social reasons after counseling and a waiting period.