WARSAW (CWNews.com) - Poland's parliament today passed a new law banning the import, distribution, or sale of pornography in the mainly Catholic country, but ex-Communist President Aleksander Kwasniewski is expected to veto it.

    The bill passed the parliament's lower house, the Sejm, 210-197 with 19 abstaining. Supported by the governing Solidarity party, the measure was opposed by left-wingers, including Kwasniewski's party, and the Freedom Union, Solidarity's junior coalition partner.

    The measure would address the explosion in the pornography and sex industries since the fall of Communism in 1989 by imposing fines and prison terms for up to two years on violators. Child pornography would garner five-year prison terms.

    Critics say the law limits free speech and is unenforceable because it does not define pornography.