Poland: Voices of a protest march in Warsaw against an almost total ban on abortion

After these protests, the government signaled that it was open to dialogue. But on Wednesday, unexpectedly, he published the law that reinforces the court’s decision, which states that abortion can only be allowed in cases of rape, incest or when the woman’s life is in danger and prevents the termination of defective pregnancies. fetal.

The Constitutional Court’s decision marked the first change in Polish abortion law since 1993, but came after years of efforts by the country’s right-wing government to restrict access to abortion. The ruling Law and Justice Party (PiS) has put anti-abortion rhetoric at the center of its socially conservative agenda and tried to pass a bill that prohibits abortion due to fetal defects in the first weeks of the coronavirus pandemic.

Wednesday’s action drove protesters in the capital, Warsaw, and other cities – including Krakow, Bydgoszcz, Opole, Szczecin, Łódź and Wrocław – to challenge the pandemic ban on meetings of more than five people and return to the streets.

A human rights group known as Women’s Strike led the opposition to the new law, as abortion has emerged as one of the most controversial issues since PiS came to power in 2015.

Those who marched in central Warsaw on Friday carried signs stating “Abortion without borders”, “Abortion is my right” or “You will not burn these witches”. Banners with the lightning emblem of the Women’s Strike movement fluttered overhead, along with the red and white of the Polish flag.

Some spoke to CNN about why they showed up despite the pandemic restrictions, which lasted until mid-February, and a strong police presence.

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

Corporate worker Eliza, 46, who carried a sign saying “This is war”, said: “I think all women are here for the freedom of Polish women. We are protesting here. A group of women saying ‘no’ to our government decisions . “

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

Psychology student Dagmara, 25, carried a sign saying, “It’s a right, not an ideology.”

The police were deployed in significant numbers in the center of Warsaw. The loudspeakers of police cars send the message that the meeting is illegal and call for the dispersion of the assembled. The protest video showed what appeared to be tear gas being used.

But the crowd of protesters remained defiant as, wrapped in thick coats and scarves and wearing masks as a precaution against Covid-19, they walked towards the official residence of PiS chief Jarosław Kaczyński in the Żoliborz district north of the city.

The demonstrators, encouraged by the leader of the Women’s Strike, Marta Lempart, made detours through the side streets to avoid police blockades. But a large police presence prevented them from getting close to the residence and the protest ended 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 firmly Roman Catholic country had some of the strictest abortion rules in Europe.

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

“This verdict is negligible,” said student Antek, 25. “We are LGBT people and the government hates us,” said colleague Aneta, also 25 years old. The pair carried a rainbow flag and the red lightning 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 are with the women, with all the non-binary people and all the people who are already tired.”

Neither PiS nor PiS-backed President Andrzej Duda has publicly commented on the new round of protests. CNN contacted the offices of the president and the prime minister for comment.

Kaczynski in October described the people protesting the abortion decision as criminals and warned that their actions in the middle of a pandemic would cost lives.

Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, of the center-right Civic Platform opposition party, joined the protest on Friday, saying on Facebook Live that he “sympathizes with the Women’s Strike”.

The Warsaw Police tweeted on Friday night that their aim was to protect the protest by minimizing inconvenience to others. “We assess the situation only from the perspective of ensuring security. Also the safety of other inhabitants of our city ”, said the force.

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

It is not clear whether the most recent protests will persuade the governing coalition to take a different course.

But the dispute over women’s reproductive rights once again revealed the cultural, moral and political divisions that profoundly affect Polish society.