Poland abortion ruling witnesses protests

Jubilee News Desk

Poland’s new abortion laws has brought thousands of women protesting against it, in different cities across the country. A court ruling has banned almost all abortions – with exceptions only for cases of rape, incest, or where the mother is at risk.

Abortions carried out when the foetus is malformed, which accounted for 98% of legal terminations last year, have now been outlawed. Fewer than 2,000 legal terminations are carried out each year. But women’s groups estimate that up to 200,000 abortions are either performed illegally, or abroad. Protests were held in Poznan, Warsaw, Wroclaw and Krakow.

It marked the second night of protests in the country, where strict measures against corona virus ban gatherings of more than 10 people in most major cities.

Protesters even clashed with riot police outside the Warsaw home of Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who heads the governing Law and Justice (PiS) party. Police said officers used pepper spray and physical force when some protesters threw stones and tried to push through the cordon around the house.

Protesters gathered near his home, carrying placards with messages such as “This is war” and “You have blood on your hands”. Police in riot gear blocked them from reaching the house. Some urged protesters through loudspeakers to obey restrictions on public gatherings, Reuters news agency reports.

“It’s a disgrace from the Polish state towards half of the population, women. We’ll never forget it,” Krystyna Kacpura, head of the Federation for Women and Family Planning said.

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The new ruling was delivered by the Polish constitutional court. It said legislation allowing for the abortion of malformed foetuses was “incompatible” with the constitution.

Former Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk – who now leads the centre-right European People’s Party grouping after presiding over the European Council – also criticised the judgement.