Another day of mass protests against tighter abortion rules

The wave of mass protests of people opposing the ruling and supporting more liberal approach to the issue of abortion rights began on Thursday (October 22) afternoon, after the Constitutional Tribunal had announced the highly controversial verdict.

The presiding judge of the tribunal, Julia Przyłębska, said at the time in the justification of the ruling that the provision in question "legalises eugenic practices in the field of the right to life of an unborn child and makes the right to life of an unborn child dependent on his or her health... is inconsistent... with the constitution".

Ahead of the ruling, it was legal in Poland to have abortion due to foetal abnormalities, danger to a mother's life or health, and in cases of incest or rape. However, virtually all abortions carried out in 2019 were due to the first of the above-mentioned reasons.

Therefore, the ruling by the tribunal is likely to force most of women facing the necessity to have an abortion to seek it abroad or to do it illegally at home, risking health and life, and being subject to persecution.

Thousands of Poles blocked city streets in cars, on bicycles and on foot on Monday on the fifth day of protests against a Constitutional Court ruling that amounts to a near-total ban on abortion in the predominantly Catholic nation.

Carrying banners reading "Enough", "I won't be your martyr" and "I want choice, not terror", protesters gathered in several dozens towns and cities in defiance of coronavirus restrictions.

"Women are strong," said Małgorzata Rutkowska, 56, standing in one of Warsaw's main thoroughfares, saying the protests would continue until the ban was reversed.

The court ruling last Thursday fuelled an unprecedented backlash against the powerful Roman Catholic Church in Poland, which is seen as having close links with the conservative nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) government.

It has also heightened criticism of PiS, which came to power five years ago on a promise to instil more traditional values.

After the ruling goes into effect, abortion will be banned in the case of foetal abnormalities. It will be legal only in the case of rape, incest or a threat to the woman's health.

Critics say the court has acted on behalf of the party, which has in the past stepped back from efforts to tighten abortion rules amid public outcry. PiS denies that.

The tribunal has been part of the government's sweeping overhaul of the justice system which the European Commission says subverts the rule of law by politicising courts.

The government has called for a halt to the protests because of a rising number of coronavirus cases overwhelming the health care system.

Except for isolated scuffles with the police, however, the protests have been largely peaceful, and in some cases local media reported police expressing support.

Poland recorded 10,241 new coronavirus cases on Monday, compared with a record of 13,632 on Friday.

Parliament is due to discuss the impact of the court ruling on the government's aid programme for families with disabled children on Tuesday.

Protests are expected to continue near the house of PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński in an affluent Warsaw neighbourhood.