Poland Rejects Draft Laws for Unmarried Couples

Poland's lawmakers have rejected three separate draft laws that were intended to give legal rights to unmarried couples, including same-sex ones.

Before the vote Friday Prime Minister Donald Tusk appealed to the lawmakers to turn the drafts into law and make the lives of "many Poles, also homosexual, more dignified."

The draft laws were intended to guarantee inheritance, access to information about the partner's health, and alimony.

The lower house, or Sejm, voted against all the drafts, one of which came from Tusk's ruling center-liberal Civic Platform party. Its failure came as a surprise, as it was believed acceptable to mostly Catholic Poles.

The other drafts came from the Democratic Left Alliance and from the pro-gay-rights Palikot's Movement.

Proponents can bring further drafts to Parliament.