Poland’s new restrictive laws on abortion make it one of the most hostile countries in Europe in terms of reproductive rights, and have caused the biggest protests the country has seen in decades.
Under this new law, which was ruled earlier this month, abortions due to fetal defects are determined as unconstitutional and are now outlawed. According to The Guardian, such procedures account for about 96% of legal abortions in Poland.
Now, Poland will only allow abortions due to rape, incest or danger to the pregnant person’s life, making Poland one of the restrictive European countries on reproductive rights.
Protesters have been demonstrating their opposition to the government for over ten days now in Warsaw, Poland’s capital.
Last Wednesday, pro-choice supporters called for a “women’s strike”, over 400,000 people protested in 400 different cities and towns across the central European nation.
On Friday, around 100,000 protesters took the streets, with 37 people detained by the Warsaw police. This particular protest has become the largest protest against Poland’s ruling rightwing Law and Justice party (PiS) since it assumed office in 2015.
Hours before Friday’s protest, Andrzej Duda, Poland’s right-wing president, announced what he described as a “legislative solution” to the political crisis. He said that abortions in cases where birth defects are terminal would be allowed.
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