Poland's parliament on Thursday opened a debate on liberalizing abortion laws in the majority Catholic country, with splits in the ruling coalition suggesting an uncertain outcome.

Women's rights were rolled back during the eight-year rule of the previous right-wing Polish government, with the tightening of already strict abortion laws sparking mass rallies.

The country of 38 million has some of the strictest abortion laws in Europe, allowing it only if pregnancy results from sexual assault or incest, or if it threatens the life or health of the mother.

But a moderate coalition came to power in October on a pledge to legalize abortion, with all three groups in the alliance submitting bills that would grant more reproductive rights.

"The state can't pretend that abortion doesn't exist -- they're being done, always have and always will," Katarzyna Kotula, the equality minister told parliament.

"The state must do everything to ensure that abortion is safe, accessible, legal, and takes place in appropriate conditions," she added.

The debate started with a bill to legalize abortion until the 12th week of pregnancy, submitted by Prime Minister Donald Tusk's Civic Coalition, and three other proposals by its partners.

The outcome is uncertain as some coalition lawmakers are reluctant to back the legislation in a vote scheduled for Friday.

And even if parliament approves the reforms, they would still need to be signed into law by President Andrzej Duda. A conservative Catholic ally of the opposition conservative PiS party, he is unlikely to agree.

In case of a standoff, Tusk's coalition may have to wait until presidential elections next year, hoping for Duda's ouster by a liberal candidate, as it does not have the required three-fifths majority to overturn a presidential veto.

 First hurdle 

 "Bills of similar content have been discussed in the parliament many times over the past 30 years but none of them was ever forwarded for further committee proceedings," Krystyna Kacpura, head of the Federation for Women and Family Planning, told AFP.

Tusk, a former EU chief and an arch-foe of the PiS party previously in power, said he hoped lawmakers in his coalition would back the legislation.

"There are many indications that this will be the case," Tusk said Tuesday.

But the conservative PSL farmers party, part of the Third Way junior coalition group, has expressed reluctance to ease abortion restrictions. Some have lawmakers said they will not back the bills.

"I will vote against," the PSL's Marek Sawicki told TOK FM radio, though he did not say how many others would follow suit.

Tusk's coalition controls 248 of the 460 seats in parliament's lower chamber, with the PSL holding 32 seats. A majority requires 231 votes.

 Presidential obstacle 

 Abortion assistance is also outlawed in Poland, with activists and doctors who help with the procedure risking jail.

Last year, an abortion rights activist, Justyna Wydrzynska, was found guilty of providing a pregnant woman with abortion pills, the first such case in the country. She was sentenced to community service.

Polish anti-abortion groups have closed ranks against the reforms, organizing a Catholic mass and a rally "to defend life" outside parliament Thursday.

"The event is a public demonstration of attachment to fundamental values, and also an expression of the highest respect for unborn and defenseless children," the organizers said in a statement.

According to an opinion poll by Ipsos, 35 percent of Poles are in favor of allowing abortion until the 12th week of pregnancy, while 14 percent said they would keep the current rules.

Twenty-three percent support holding a referendum on liberalizing the abortion law, a solution backed by Third Way but strongly criticized by women's rights campaigners.

But getting any new legislation past Duda, the PiS ally, will be a challenge.

Last month, Duda vetoed legislation on prescription-free emergency contraception for girls and women aged 15 and over. The government has said it will bypass the veto by allowing pharmacists to provide morning-after pills.