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From: TT
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Photo: Czarek Sokolowski / AP / TT
Demonstrations against the tightening of the abortion law in Warsaw on Wednesday.
In the Polish capital, Warsaw, massive demonstrations are expected on Friday against a court decision that would mean a ban on virtually all abortions.
– We are prepared to fight to the end, says Marta Lempart, co-founder of the Women’s Strike movement.
Demonstrations against a feared tightening of abortion laws have been going on for more than a week. On Wednesday, more than 400,000 people took part in protests across the country, with the same number expected to attend the rally in the capital this afternoon. At the same time, organizers are threatened with prosecution because crowds of more than five people are banned in Poland during the pandemic.
Security in Warsaw is now being tightened after clashes between protesters and far-right activists during days of protests.
The demonstrations gained momentum after the Constitutional Court announced last week that abortion of injured fetuses is contrary to the constitution, opening up further tightening of the country’s already strict abortion legislation. A tightening would mean that almost all abortions are banned, as 98 percent of legal abortions in Poland are linked to birth defects, according to the women’s rights organization Federation for Women and Family Planning.
Catholic Poland already has one of the strictest abortion laws in Europe. Fewer than 2,000 legal abortions are performed each year, but women’s rights groups estimate that around 200,000 women perform abortions illegally or abroad.
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