A Woman’s War: On Poland’s Abortion Protests 2020
Written By: Jakira Ahmed
October 22nd, 2020 saw Poland erupt into protest as the Constitutional Tribunal in Warsaw declared “to ban abortions of fetuses with congenital defects, even when the fetus has no chance of survival at birth” (Gera). Poland is known to have some of the strictest abortion laws in the European Union. Following the collapse of Communism in Poland up until the recent ruling, this 1993 abortion law only allowed abortions “in the cases of fetal defects, risk to a woman's health and incest or rape” (Gera). Backed by Catholic church leaders, “the demonstrations have broadened into an expression of anger at a right-wing government that opponents accuse of hijacking Poland’s judiciary and chipping away at the hard-won freedoms of the post-communist era” (Pronczuk).
Poland did not always have strict abortion laws. Abortion became legalized in the nation in 1956 as many people were participating in unsafe procedures that added to the high maternal mortality rate. It “became widely available in public hospitals and private clinics and was subsidized by the government if performed at a government institution” (Sifferlin). This shift in approach to abortion came after the fall of communism and the growing allyship of the Catholic Church and Polish government that women like “Krystyna Kacpura, the executive director of the Federation for Women and Family Planning in Warsaw, Poland, say have neglected and ignored the voices” of Polish women for years (Sifferlin).
As of current, the Polish government will only allow abortions to take place “if the pregnancy threatened the mother's life and health, or if a woman became pregnant following rape or incest” (Mortensen, Smith-Spark). As one of their remaining slivers of access are taken away, the people of Poland (especially women) have risen up with over 150,000 protestors showing up to fight against the new law (Mortensen, Smith-Spark). According to protest organizers, the demonstrations that erupted over the October 22nd ruling were the “largest in Poland since the fall of Communism in 1989,” showcasing the threat to Polish women’s right to their body (Pronczuk). As the protestors declare, “if even one woman is harmed by an unsafe abortion, we will hold the Polish state accountable. This week there was a general strike by Polish women. We walked out of work, and many employers supported the women and protested with them. We will continue to protest, and we will fight to the end” (Kacpura).
SOURCES
https://apnews.com/article/voting-rights-poland-womens-rights-coronavirus-pandemic-courts-f9a2c2d87490518d1daac655245d2bf7
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/27/world/europe/poland-abortion-ruling-protests.html
https://time.com/poland-abortion-laws-protest/
https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/31/europe/poland-abortion-protests-scli-intl/index.html
https://time.com/5905885/poland-abortion-ban-protest/
IMAGE SOURCES
Pixabay (President of Poland)
https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/31/europe/poland-abortion-protests-scli-intl/index.html (aerial view)
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-29/poland-abortion-ruling-nationwide-job-strike/12824384 (march)
https://apnews.com/article/voting-rights-poland-womens-rights-coronavirus-pandemic-courts-f9a2c2d87490518d1daac655245d2bf7
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/27/world/europe/poland-abortion-ruling-protests.html
https://time.com/poland-abortion-laws-protest/
https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/31/europe/poland-abortion-protests-scli-intl/index.html
https://time.com/5905885/poland-abortion-ban-protest/
IMAGE SOURCES
Pixabay (President of Poland)
https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/31/europe/poland-abortion-protests-scli-intl/index.html (aerial view)
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-29/poland-abortion-ruling-nationwide-job-strike/12824384 (march)