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For the fifth day, Poles protest the almost total ban on abortion. The ruling party brought conservatism to the country.
In Poland, massive protests against stricter abortion legislation continue. Now it is possible to terminate a pregnancy only in case of rape or incest, as well as if it threatens the life and health of a woman.
Protesters blocked roads in 150 Polish cities, organizers say. In Warsaw, the police almost allowed protesters to collide with the far right. Correspondent.net says the details.
How Poland became a bastion of conservatism
On October 22, the Constitutional Court of Poland declared unconstitutional a law allowing abortion in cases of severe and irreversible fetal disability or incurable disease.
This provision was the basis for about 98 percent of abortions that were legally performed in Poland last year. The court’s decision almost completely banned abortion in Poland.
The toughening of abortion laws was welcomed by Polish President Andrzej Duda, as well as the highest officials of the Polish Catholic Church.
On October 27, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that “the right to choose is a fundamental right, but to exercise this right it is necessary to be alive.” He stressed that only “eugenic reasons” for abortion are prohibited.
“I will recommend prenatal exams for all women. It is very important to examine the development of the child from the earliest stages … All children and all women are carefully cared for and cared for,” she said.
The ordinary citizens, from day one, protested and still remain in the streets. The protests also took place in front of the Polish embassies in London and Kiev.
By October 27, protests have taken over 150 cities, organizers say. Protesters block traffic on busy roads.
Many of the protesters are removing their outer clothing and holding signs derogatory demands for the government to resign. In Krakow, the protests were held under the slogan “This is war.”
Police had to use pepper spray to prevent protesters from colliding with right-wing protesters.
Tens of thousands of people took part in the protests across the country: in cars, bicycles or on foot, they blocked traffic on the roads, Reuters reports.
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The issue of abortion has deeply divided Polish society. Polish legislation on abortion was one of the harshest in Europe before this decision was made.
“Poland is considered one of the most conservative Catholic countries in Europe. More conservative than the Pope himself, who takes a neutral or even friendly position on issues related to biopolitics or gay marriage,” says Stanislav, executive director of the international organization of CIS-EMO monitoring. Byshok.
In 2014, a public opinion poll showed that 65 percent of Poles do not support abortion. 27 percent do not see anything reprehensible in them, and eight percent of those surveyed did not comment on their position on the matter.
But for several years, the majority of respondents have indicated in polls that they are against tightening the law. And before the court’s decision, the so-called “aborted engagement” was in force in Poland.
“Hell for women. This is what the verdict of the politicized Constitutional Court means,” wrote the vice president of the Diet, Malgorzata Kidava-Blonska.
“Following the decision of the Constitutional Court, Poland became the first caliphate in Europe,” says journalist Witold Glovatsky.
“Placing the abortion issue and the pseudo-court decision in this case in the midst of a devastating epidemic is more than cynicism. It is political pettiness,” wrote former Polish prime minister, head of the European People’s Party Donald Tusk.
Since 2015, Poland has undergone a conservative turn: the traditionalists not only have their own president, but also most of the seats in parliament. In addition, over the years of his rule, the conservative Law and Justice Party has strengthened its position: the independence of the judiciary and the media has been reduced.
In the party’s electoral programs, there were no promises regarding abortion legislation. However, in 2016, a bill was introduced to parliament that would ban abortions for fetal defects and would establish a five-year sentence for the woman who had the illegal abortion and for the doctor who performed the operation.
Then thousands of people took to the streets across Poland and the ruling party withdrew the bill. The party decided to take a different path, nullifying the law of compromise with a legal loophole through the Constitutional Court under its control.
The Polish authorities also uphold other “traditional family values”. In July, Poland started the process of withdrawing the Council of Europe Convention to Prevent and Combat Violence against Women and Domestic Violence.
As explained by the Minister of Justice of the Republic, Zbigniew Zebro, the document “imposes on the country a contradictory ideology on gender stereotypes, which does not correspond to the prevailing views in Poland on family traditions.”
Furthermore, since 2019, about a hundred cities and municipalities in Poland have signed decrees, according to which the territories of these settlements were declared “an ideologically free zone of LGBT people”.
These resolutions are symbolic and have no legal force, but this gesture also became part of a larger campaign to oppress LGBT communities in Poland.
One of the ruling party members says that “LGBT ideology grew out of the same roots as Hitler’s National Socialism.”
During the election campaign, Duda claimed that “LGBT ideology is trying to aggressively sexualize children.”
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