A controversial near-total abortion ban in Poland went into effect late Wednesday, despite rampant resistance from hundreds of thousands of Poles who began to protest in the fall at the country’s largest demonstrations since the collapse of communism in 1989.
Thousands of outraged women, adolescents and allies returned to the streets, bundled up against the cold Wednesday night after it was revealed that a ruling would go into effect making abortion for fetal abnormalities – practically the only abortion performed in Poland.
The decision was taken by the Constitutional Court in October, but its implementation was delayed after a month of protests. On Wednesday, the government abruptly announced that the verdict would be published in the government journal, which means it will take effect.
The protesters sang slogans like “I think, I feel, I decide!” and “Freedom of choice instead of terror!” In Warsaw, they marched to the headquarters of the ruling Law and Justice Party to hear songs like “I will survive”.
“We are dealing with incompetence, corruption and a total collapse of the state, so these men are doing what they know best – to deprive citizens of their rights and freedoms,” protest organizer Marta Lempart told TVN24 on Wednesday. “This is about women, but also about all other minorities and majorities who hate law and justice.”
The opposition legislature on Wednesday criticized the decision to suddenly announce that the verdict would be published in the Official Journal. The government had previously delayed the publication of the verdict in an overt response to the protests, a move that legal experts have described as unconstitutional.
“It’s not just women who take you on the streets, it’s the whole nation that has had enough,” said Rafał Trzaskowski, the mayor of Warsaw, adding the decision to make the verdict “against the will of Poles” to publish is a “conscious and calculated action to the detriment of the state.”
Others have not crushed words in their dissatisfaction. “Bastards. # Pseudo-ruling # pseudo-tribunal, “said Barbara Nowacka, a left-liberal opposition legislature, on Twitter.
The decision of thousands to protest despite an increase in coronavirus cases was another sign of discontent from a multitude of groups who believe human freedoms are being undermined under the increasingly autocratic Party for Law and Justice. It is also because public anger is mounting over the government’s handling of the pandemic – which is extending restrictions through late January – and the sluggish adoption of vaccinations.
Poland already had one of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe, with only three cases being legal: fetal abnormalities, pregnancies resulting from rape or incest, and threats to a woman’s life. The latter two remain legal. But with 1,074 of 1,100 abortions performed in the country last year due to fetal abnormalities, the ban would outlaw abortion in most cases, and critics say many women will resort to illegal procedures or travel abroad to obtain abortions .
Even in the absence of the ruling, some hospitals had preventively ordered doctors to stop abortion because of fetal abnormalities for fear of the legal ramifications for their doctors, according to local media.
European lawmakers, who have accused the government of influencing the court’s decision, also criticized the announcement.
“Many of us cannot be on the streets with you to march in defense of our fundamental rights,” said Terry Reintke, a green lawmaker from Germany who is in the European Parliament, on Twitter. “But you know that: in every village, in every city in Europe, women follow your struggle. Never forget that you are standing on the shoulders of brave women who have been fighting this fight for many years. “
“For them, it’s not about protecting life,” said Donald Tusk, an opposition Polish lawmaker and former President of the European Council, of the Law and Justice Party. “Under their rule more and more Poles die and fewer are born.”
