Demonstrators rally against new
proposal to outlaw abortions in cases where foetus is unviable or suffers
abnormalities
The street protests are expected to continue on Monday, with some women planning a strike, boycotting jobs and classes. Photograph: Janek Skarzynski/AFP/Getty Images
Hundreds of protesters dressed in black
have taken to the streets of Warsaw for the latest demonstration against
efforts by the nation’s conservative leaders to tighten Poland’s already
restrictive abortion law.
A large group gathered on Sunday outside
the parliament building in Warsaw, chanting: “We have had enough!” Polish media
reported similar protests in cities and towns across the country.
The protests are expected to continue on
Monday, with some women planning to strike and boycott jobs and classes.
Similar protests took place earlier this
month against a proposal for a total ban on abortion. But lawmakers rejected that proposal after
tens of thousands of people dressed in black staged street protests under their
umbrellas in the rain.
At the
time, the Liberal MP and former prime minister Ewa Kopacz told reporters the
ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) had “backtracked because it was scared by
all the women who hit the streets in protest”.
The latest round of demonstrations, held
under the slogan “We are not putting our umbrellas away”, was organised in
response to a new proposal that would fall short of a total ban but outlaw
abortions in cases where foetuses are unviable or in cases of severe foetal
abnormalities.
Jarosław
Kaczyński, the head of PiS, said recently he wants the law to ensure that women
carry their foetuses to term in cases of Down’s syndrome or even when there is
no chance of survival. The move would allow for baptisms and burials, Kaczyński
said.
His socially
conservative party won parliamentary and presidential elections last year with
the support of Poland’s powerful Roman Catholic church, Catholic media outlets
and religious voters. Many observers see the attempts to further restrict
abortion as a way for the party to repay its debt to its religious base.
However, the
proposals have proven too restrictive for many Poles, including some who voted
for the party.
The “black
protests” appear to have shifted public opinion on the issue, with recent polls
suggesting not only near-overwhelming opposition to the proposed ban, but
increasing support for the liberalisation of existing laws.
Abortion was legal
and easily available under communism in Poland, but after cits fall the country
re-embraced many of its Catholic traditions. The current law, passed in 1993,
bans most abortions, with exceptions only made in cases of rape, if the
mother’s life or health is at risk, or in cases of severe foetal abnormality.
Official
statistics show there were 1,040 legal abortions in Poland last year,
although many more abortions are known to take place, with women traveling to
neighbouring countries for the procedure or ordering abortion pills online.
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