President Karol Nawrocki said on Thursday he would instead refer the government-backed bill to the Constitutional Tribunal for review.
Critics said the move means the measure will never take effect because the opposition-controlled constitutional court is certain to side with Nawrocki, a fierce critic of the government.
The legislation, dubbed lex charlatan, sought to restrict pseudo-medical practices that can endanger patients.
Nawrocki said its goal was legitimate but questioned whether the proposed enforcement measures were proportionate and provided adequate legal protections.
"The goal of this law is right, but the means proposed in it may be problematic," Nawrocki said in a video posted by his office.
He argued that the legislation grouped together dangerous fraudsters and thousands of legitimate Polish businesses and individuals involved in herbalism, healthy eating and complementary medicine.
Nawrocki said Poland needed rules that would effectively prevent fraudulent practices without harming legitimate businesses.
He said he was therefore drafting his own legislation, including amendments to the criminal code, to target people who deliberately discourage patients from scientifically proven medical treatment for profit or other benefits.
Under the government legislation, pseudo-medical practices would be prohibited when they involve providing health services that could cause bodily harm, illness or death when performed by someone who is not a medical professional.
The legislation would also prohibit offering or using diagnostic or treatment methods that are not recognised as health services while misleading patients into believing that these methods have medically recognised properties.
The restrictions would apply in particular to the diagnosis or treatment of cancer, serious incurable diseases and mental disorders.
Nawrocki said he was concerned about provisions allowing penalties and other restrictions to be imposed before a final court ruling.
"The key problem is depriving citizens of a real right to a fair trial and an effective defence," he said. He argued that businesses could be forced to close before having their cases reviewed by a court.
He also said the procedure did not guarantee the participation of independent medical experts and that decisions concerning alleged medical misinformation could be made by a single official.
Nawrocki said the provisions could infringe on the constitutional freedom to conduct business and violate the principle of proportionality.
"The regulations should be examined by the Constitutional Tribunal," Nawrocki said. "That is why I am referring the law to the Constitutional Tribunal before signing it."
Poland's centrist coalition government says the Constitutional Tribunal is illegitimate because of unlawful judicial appointments made when the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party was in power from 2015 to 2023.
PM accuses president of siding with 'charlatans'
Prime Minister Donald Tusk sharply criticised the president's decision, saying Nawrocki had sided with people who exploit patients rather than protecting those who are ill.
"It's hard to believe but Karol Nawrocki has blocked a law protecting patients from fraud, extortion and dangerous, unproven therapies," Tusk wrote in a social media post.
"Instead of standing with the sick, he stood with the charlatans," he added.
Nawrocki said his proposed legislation would introduce "clear and precise criminal provisions" targeting people who knowingly persuade patients, for profit or other benefits, to abandon evidence-based medical treatment.
"Guilt and punishment will not be decided by a single official, but by an independent court after a fair trial," Nawrocki said.
His proposal would also give the patient rights ombudsman a role in proceedings, allowing the official to participate in prosecutorial investigations and court proceedings.
Doctors' groups, the health ministry and the patient rights ombudsman had urged Nawrocki to sign the legislation, while alternative medicine practitioners had opposed it.
Health Minister Jolanta Sobierańska-Grenda said lex charlatan was designed to "protect patients from pseudo-medicine, misinformation and con artists who prey on illness and fear."
Nawrocki's spokesman Rafał Leśkiewicz said on Thursday that the president's proposal would penalise anyone who induces people to make dangerous health decisions.
The proposal would include a prison sentence of up to 15 years for conduct resulting in a patient's death, Leśkiewicz said.
(gs)
Source: IAR/PAP