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| Black Monday: Polish women strike against abortion ban | Black Monday: Polish women strike against abortion ban |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Women in Poland have gone on strike in protest against proposals for a total ban on abortions. | Women in Poland have gone on strike in protest against proposals for a total ban on abortions. |
| They marched through the streets wearing black as a sign of mourning for their reproductive rights. | They marched through the streets wearing black as a sign of mourning for their reproductive rights. |
| Women who oppose the ban are staying away from work and school and refusing to do domestic chores, in a protest inspired by a women's strike in Iceland in 1975. | Women who oppose the ban are staying away from work and school and refusing to do domestic chores, in a protest inspired by a women's strike in Iceland in 1975. |
| Anti-abortion protests are being held around the country too. | Anti-abortion protests are being held around the country too. |
| IVF curb | IVF curb |
| Women took to the streets of the capital city, Warsaw, in a pro-choice march on what they are calling "Black Monday". | Women took to the streets of the capital city, Warsaw, in a pro-choice march on what they are calling "Black Monday". |
| It is unclear how many women are taking part in the action and how widespread it will be beyond big cities. | It is unclear how many women are taking part in the action and how widespread it will be beyond big cities. |
| Will Poland impose a total ban on abortion? | Will Poland impose a total ban on abortion? |
| If the law - which has cleared one parliamentary hurdle so far - goes through it will make Poland's abortion laws as restrictive as those in two other countries in Europe: Malta and the Vatican. | If the law - which has cleared one parliamentary hurdle so far - goes through it will make Poland's abortion laws as restrictive as those in two other countries in Europe: Malta and the Vatican. |
| Women found to have had abortions would be punished with a five-year prison term. Doctors found to have assisted in an abortion would also be liable for jail time. | Women found to have had abortions would be punished with a five-year prison term. Doctors found to have assisted in an abortion would also be liable for jail time. |
| Abortion is already mostly banned in Poland. | Abortion is already mostly banned in Poland. |
| The current exceptions are: | The current exceptions are: |
| Critics say the tightening of the law could mean women who have a miscarriage are also investigated, on suspicion of having had the pregnancy terminated deliberately. At early stages of pregnancy, miscarriages and abortions have indistinguishable symptoms. | Critics say the tightening of the law could mean women who have a miscarriage are also investigated, on suspicion of having had the pregnancy terminated deliberately. At early stages of pregnancy, miscarriages and abortions have indistinguishable symptoms. |
| One protester said: "We are saying 'enough is enough' over what is happening, to what the government, the Church and the so-called pro-life organisations are planning for women. | One protester said: "We are saying 'enough is enough' over what is happening, to what the government, the Church and the so-called pro-life organisations are planning for women. |
| "They want to introduce an anti-abortion law which will mean in many cases, women will be sentenced to death. It will take away the sense of security they have, the treatment options available when pregnancy puts their lives or health in danger." | "They want to introduce an anti-abortion law which will mean in many cases, women will be sentenced to death. It will take away the sense of security they have, the treatment options available when pregnancy puts their lives or health in danger." |
| One gynaecologist warned that the law as it is worded now could effectively lead to doctors being unwilling to do invasive prenatal tests and lifesaving operations. | |
| Prof Romuald Debski, who works at a hospital in Warsaw, told Polish media: "Whoever causes the death of the unborn child is punishable by imprisonment up to three years. If I have a patient with pre-eclampsia, who is 32 weeks pregnant, I will have to let her and her child die. | |
| "I have to, because if I perform a caesarean section and the child dies, I may go to prison for three years, because the child was premature." | |
| Pre-eclampsia is a potentially fatal condition that can develop in the second half of pregnancy and can only be cured by delivering the baby. | |
| A separate bill seeks to curb in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), allowing only one embryo to be fertilised at any one time, and banning the practice of freezing embryos. | A separate bill seeks to curb in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), allowing only one embryo to be fertilised at any one time, and banning the practice of freezing embryos. |
| The city hall in Czestochowa in southern Poland allowed female staff to take the day off on Monday, while several businesses have closed for the protests. | The city hall in Czestochowa in southern Poland allowed female staff to take the day off on Monday, while several businesses have closed for the protests. |
| But the Catholic Church is among those who support the total ban. The Polish Bishops' Conference asked Catholics to pray for "the conscience and the light of the Holy Spirit on all Poles who protect human life from conception to natural death". | But the Catholic Church is among those who support the total ban. The Polish Bishops' Conference asked Catholics to pray for "the conscience and the light of the Holy Spirit on all Poles who protect human life from conception to natural death". |
| The country's foreign minister was another high-profile critic of the protests. | The country's foreign minister was another high-profile critic of the protests. |
| Witold Waszczykowski told Associated Press: "We expect serious debate on questions of life, death and birth. We do not expect happenings, dressing in costumes and creating artificial problems." | Witold Waszczykowski told Associated Press: "We expect serious debate on questions of life, death and birth. We do not expect happenings, dressing in costumes and creating artificial problems." |
| While pro-choice activists marched in black and tweeted pictures of themselves wearing black, anti-abortion activists choice white for the colour of their counter-protests. | While pro-choice activists marched in black and tweeted pictures of themselves wearing black, anti-abortion activists choice white for the colour of their counter-protests. |
| People in Berlin, Brussels, Dusseldorf and Belfast held rallies supporting the Polish pro-choice movement, while protests were planned in Dublin and London for later in the day. | People in Berlin, Brussels, Dusseldorf and Belfast held rallies supporting the Polish pro-choice movement, while protests were planned in Dublin and London for later in the day. |
| The only European countries with stricter laws than Poland has at present are: | The only European countries with stricter laws than Poland has at present are: |
| Even by conservative estimates there are far more illegal abortions than legal ones in Poland - between 10,000 and 150,000, compared to about 1,000 or 2,000 legal terminations. | Even by conservative estimates there are far more illegal abortions than legal ones in Poland - between 10,000 and 150,000, compared to about 1,000 or 2,000 legal terminations. |