According to the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, marriage as a union between a woman and a man, family, motherhood and parenthood are under the protection and care of the Polish Republic. The explicit solution for the definition of marriage as a union of a man and a woman, adopted in the Constitution, restricts the freedom to introduce possible legalization of civil unions because they cannot be granted the legal status of marriage. The constitutional principle of parenthood protection implies the right of parents to take responsible decisions on having children, in positive and negative terms, which means a double prohibition of taking actions restricting the freedom to have children, as well as the prohibition of taking actions coercing into having children.

Key words: family, marriage, child, Constitution, human rights.