Poland: voices of protest march in Warsaw over almost total abortion ban

After the protests, the government indicated that it was open to dialogue. But on Wednesday, it unexpectedly published the law enforcing the court ruling, which stipulates that abortions may only be allowed in cases of rape, incest or if the woman’s life is in danger and impedes the termination of pregnancies with fetal defects.

The ruling of the constitutional court was the first change in the Polish abortion law since 1993, but came after a years-long attempt by the country’s right-wing government to restrict access to abortions. The ruling party for law and justice (PiS) placed rhetoric against abortions at the heart of its socially conservative agenda, and in the early weeks of the coronavirus pandemic tried to pass a bill banning abortions due to fetal defects.

Wednesday’s move led to protesters in the capital, Warsaw and other cities – including Krakow, Bydgoszcz, Opole, Szczecin, Łódź and Wrocław – facing a pandemic at meetings of more than five people and re-entering the streets .

A rights group known as Women’s Strike has led the opposition to the new law, as abortion has come to power since 2015 as one of the most divisive issues.

Those who marched in the center of Warsaw on Friday carried posters stating that ‘abortion without borders’, ‘abortion is my right’ or ‘you will not burn these witches’. Banners on which the lightning bolt emblem of the Women’s Strike movement hung waved along with the red and white of the Polish flag.

Some spoke to CNN about why they showed up despite the pandemic restrictions, which were extended Thursday to mid-February and were a heavy police presence.

“It’s very important to be here because women’s rights are being trampled on,” said 17-year-old high school student Zuzia. “I show support for the movement.”

Corporal worker Eliza, 46, who carried a poster with the words “This is war”, said: “I think all women are here for freedom for Polish women. We are protesting here. A group of women saying no to our government and their decisions. “

“We are here because the ruling on the new abortion law has come into effect and women have become living incubators,” said Julia, 23. “The thing is simple for me: I want my rights and choice and I think everyone here thinks the same and we should support each other.”

Psychology student Dagmara, 25, wore a sign that said, “This is a right, not an ideology.”

Police have been deployed in large numbers in central Warsaw. Speakers from police cars broadcast the message that the gathering was illegal and demanded that those who gather be dispersed. In the video of the protest, it appears that tear gas is being used.

But the crowd of protesters remained defiant as they were wrapped in precautionary measures against Covid-19 in thick coats and scarves and with face masks in the direction of the official residence of PiS chief Jarosław Kaczyński in the northern district of Żoliborz in the city.

The protesters, galvanized by Marta Lempart, the leader of the women’s strike, took detours in back streets to avoid police blockades. But a large police presence prevented them from getting close to the residence and the protest finally broke out after midnight.

Kaczyński, the country’s deputy prime minister, is widely seen as the de facto decision-maker in Poland and the driving force behind the new abortion law. Even before it came into force, the strict Roman Catholic country had some of the strictest abortion rules in Europe.

According to data from the Polish Ministry of Health, abortions due to fetal defects accounted for approximately 98% of all legal abortions performed in Poland in 2019.

“This verdict is contemptible,” said 25-year-old student Antek. “We are LGBT people and the government hates us,” said fellow student Aneta, also 25. The pair wore a rainbow flag and the red lightning bolt symbol of the Women’s Strike movement as they walked.

Weronika, 22, said: “I am here in solidarity with all the women and all the men who stand with women, with all the non-binary people and all the people who have had enough.”

Neither the PiS nor President Andrzej Duda, who is backed by the PiS, has publicly commented on the new round of protests. CNN reached out to the offices of the president and prime minister for comment.

In October, Kaczynski described people protesting the abortion ruling as criminals and warned that their actions in the midst of a pandemic would cost lives.

Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski of the opposition center-right-wing civilian platform joined the protest on Friday, saying on Facebook Live that he was “in solidarity with the Women’s Stake”.

Police in Warsaw tweeted on Friday night that the aim was to secure the protest, while keeping the inconvenience to other people to a minimum. “We are only evaluating the situation through the prism to ensure safety. Also the safety of other residents of our city,” the force said.

Meanwhile, Urszula Sara Zielińska, a Green Party MP, tweeted that each of those who showed up in protest “despite the frost, pandemic and fear of police repression” represented hundreds of thousands of other people who did not want to live. a sick country. ‘

It is unclear whether the latest protests will persuade the governing coalition to follow a different path.

But the dispute over reproductive rights for women has once again exposed the cultural, moral and political divisions that run deep through Polish society.