Andrzej Duda's latest decisions include providing psychological support to children without parental consent.

• On August 6, Karol Nawrocki will assume the office of President of the Republic of Poland. The president-elect will be sworn in before the National Assembly.
• On the last day of his term of office, Andrzej Duda made a decision on the act enabling children to use the help of a psychologist without the consent of their parents (the act amending the act on patients' rights and the Patient Ombudsman and the act on the professions of physician and dentist)
• The applicants wanted the bill to go to Andrzej Duda, not his successor.
• However, the outgoing president decided not to sign it.
• - It's about children's safety," Duda said.

The president told TV Republika that the reason for referring the bill to the Constitutional Tribunal as a preventive measure is very simple. "It's about children's safety," Duda emphasized.

He added that referring the bill to the Constitutional Tribunal under preventive control means that the bill will not come into force.

The law was intended to introduce regulations allowing adolescents between 13 and 18 years of age to access psychological counseling, individual psychotherapy in the form of crisis intervention, or psychosocial support—in the public system—without the consent of their guardians. However, minor patients would be required to provide their own and their parents' information, and they would be notified within seven days that their child had received psychological help. However, there were to be exceptions, such as when the guardianship court was the first to learn about it. This was intended to address situations where notifying guardians would jeopardize the patient's well-being.

This was a parliamentary bill, developed in collaboration with young people, in response to their needs. Despite this, it sparked considerable controversy: it was perceived as an infringement on parents' right to make decisions concerning their children. Therefore, the sponsors were keen for the bill to be submitted to Andrzej Duda, not his successor.

What reservations does Andrzej Duda have about the bill?

- Without denying the motives behind the changes introduced, which are aimed at supporting children and young people in mental crisis, I would like to draw attention to the fact that the act introduces new regulations that are de facto a breach in the Polish family law system and the model of parental authority functioning within it - wrote the president in the justification of the motion.

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