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How Poland’s New Abortion Law Became a Flash Point Why Are There Protests in Poland?
(17 days later)
In what have been the largest demonstrations in the country since the fall of communism in 1989, tens of thousands of people have been marching in Poland for more than a week to protest a new high court ruling that imposes a near-total ban on abortion, blocking major roads and bridges and chanting anti-government slogans. In the largest demonstrations in Poland since the fall of communism in 1989, tens of thousands of people marched to protest a high-court ruling in October that imposed a near-total ban on abortion.
The demonstrators, some dressed as characters from “The Handmaid’s Tale,” have even disrupted masses and vandalized churches — a rare case of Poles lashing out at the government’s ally, the Catholic Church, in the staunchly Catholic country. Then, in an apparent response to the protests — which erupted on Oct. 22 over the tightening of what was already one of Europe’s most restrictive abortion laws — the government missed a Nov. 2 deadline to carry out the court’s ruling, indefinitely delaying its passage.
The protests began on Oct. 22 over the court decision that tightened what was already one of Europe’s most restrictive abortion laws. But they have increasingly turned into a broader expression of anger at a right-wing government that opponents accuse of hijacking the judiciary and chipping away at the hard-won freedoms of the post-communist era. Planned mid-November discussions in Parliament about draft legislation proposed by President Andrzej Duda were first postponed to the end of the month, but have not materialized.
On the sixth day of protests, tens of thousands of people poured out of their homes and offices in a nationwide strike. On the eighth day, an even larger crowd outraged by the court decision gathered in Warsaw. It was made up mainly of women joined by thousands of men and a wide array of groups unhappy with the ruling Law and Justice party. 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. In a sign of the government’s growing impatience, the police used force against the protesters for the first time on Nov. 18, wielding batons and firing tear gas.
On Oct. 27, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the deputy prime minister and leader of the ruling Law and Justice party, urged his conservative supporters on Facebook to “defend Poland, defend patriotism” and “defend Polish churches.” Here’s a look at how the protest movement has evolved.
“This is the only way we can win this war,” he added. Before the Constitutional Tribunal’s ruling, Poland had allowed terminations in three scenarios: fetal abnormalities, a threat to a woman’s health, and incest or rape. In practice, most legal abortions — 1,074 of 1,100 performed last year — resulted from fetal abnormalities.
Here’s a look at how the issue became such a flash point. The court ruling held that abortions for fetal abnormalities violated the Constitution — a decision that cannot be appealed.
Before the ruling on Oct. 22 by the Constitutional Tribunal, Poland had permitted terminations in three scenarios: for fetal abnormalities, in the case of a threat to a woman’s health and in the case of incest or rape. But in practice, the overwhelming majority of legal abortions — 1,074 of 1,100 performed last year — resulted from fetal abnormalities. This category of abortions nonetheless represents only a small fraction of those obtained by Polish women, since many go abroad for abortions or have them illegally.
However, the latest court ruling held that abortions for fetal abnormalities violate the Constitution — a decision that cannot be appealed. Doctors in Poland can refuse to perform a legal abortion and may also refuse to prescribe contraception on religious grounds. And there is little financial and psychological support for families of disabled children.
Still, this category of abortions represents only a small fraction of those obtained by Polish women. Many already go abroad for abortions or have them illegally. Common obstacles to legal termination include lengthy waits and doctors refusing to perform them. After the deadline to implement the court’s ruling passed in early November, President Duda proposed “compromise” legislation that would allow the abortion of fetuses with “lethal” abnormalities while banning abortions linked to other conditions.
Doctors in Poland can refuse to perform a legal abortion and may also refuse to prescribe contraception on religious grounds. And there is very little financial and psychological support for families of disabled children, who are left to fend for themselves once the child is born. But protesters say there is no room for compromise. “Our crucial demand is the resignation of the current government,” said Marta Lempart, one of the protest leaders.
In the court ruling, the tribunal’s president, Julia Przylebska, said that allowing abortions for fetal abnormalities legalized “eugenic practices.” Because Poland’s Constitution guarantees the protection of human life, she added, termination based on the health of a fetus amounted to “a directly forbidden form of discrimination.” Since the government missed a Nov. 2 deadline to publish the court ruling in an official journal — the next step toward its implementation — movement on the new measure has temporarily halted.
Protesters are demanding that the court reverse itself and a growing number are also calling for liberalization of the abortion law. Protests have spread from cities to towns and villages and women’s groups have found support from some unlikely corners, including taxi drivers, farmers and coal miners, all with their own grievances against the government. The government could still publish the decision at any time, as it has done with other controversial rulings, but legal experts say that doing so would violate the Constitution.
The government led by the Law and Justice party has tried repeatedly to make the abortion law stricter, but it could not muster the votes in Parliament. Polls have shown that most citizens had opposed new limits and each prior attempt was met with mass demonstrations. And the delay has not ended the protests, which continue with smaller numbers and broader demands. Women’s Strike, a grass-roots organization, set up a “consultation council” of opposition figures — modeled after protests in Belarus after its contested August election — to bring the various demands to the government.
But the Law and Justice party has largely erased the independence of the judiciary, a move that has drawn international condemnation, and critics say the party has used the subservient courts to achieve what it could not do legislatively. The government denies such claims. The group published 13 demands for sweeping changes in major policy areas, including a return to a secular state, a restoration of the judiciary’s independence, protection of the environment and changes in labor law.
Rather than try again to pass legislation, right-wing lawmakers asked the constitutional tribunal, Poland’s highest court, to review the law. The demonstrations could be halted by a worsening coronavirus outbreak in the country, analysts say. Poland’s leaders are trying to avoid a second lockdown as the country faces rising new cases and hospitalizations, and doctors say the country’s underfunded and understaffed health care sector is on the brink of collapse.
Many women say they are being used as pawns in the ruling party’s efforts to distract the public from its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, with cases surging and hospitals increasingly overwhelmed. In the past month, Poland has become one of the hardest-hit countries in the world, straining its health care system. The president, Andrzej Duda, tested positive on Saturday. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has blamed the protests for the increase in cases, and appealed to demonstrators to move their rallies online.
The governing party, which took power in 2015, presents itself as the defender of traditional, Catholic values, and denigrates its opponents as anti-Polish and anti-Christian. Central to that vision are Polish women as wives and mothers, and women’s rights groups are depicted as dangerous agents of liberal, Western propaganda. Recent polls show the largest drop in support for the president and the government since they came to power.
They have not been the party’s only target. At the height of Europe’s migration crisis, Law and Justice portrayed migrants as a threat to Christian civilization — but later agreed to take in Christian ones. After that issue subsided, the right focused much of its attention during recent political campaigns on gay people, painting them as a threat to Polish life and values. The government led by the Law and Justice party has repeatedly tried to make the abortion law stricter, but it had not mustered the votes in Parliament. Polls have shown that most people in the country opposed new limits, and each earlier attempt was met with mass demonstrations.
Rather than try again to pass legislation, right-wing lawmakers asked the Constitutional Tribunal, Poland’s highest court, to review the law. Critics say that Law and Justice, which has largely erased the judiciary’s independence, has used the subservient courts to achieve what it could not do legislatively. The government denies such claims.
The governing party, which took power in 2015, presents itself as a defender of traditional Roman Catholic values and denigrates its opponents as anti-Polish and anti-Christian. Central to that vision are Polish women as wives and mothers, and women’s rights groups are depicted as dangerous agents of liberal Western propaganda.
They have not been the party’s only target. At the height of Europe’s migration crisis in 2015, Law and Justice portrayed migrants as a threat to Christian civilization — but later agreed to take in Christian ones. After that issue subsided, the right focused much of its attention during recent political campaigns on gay people, painting them as a threat to Polish life and values.
Law and Justice has seized on European Union complaints about Poland’s illiberal course as evidence that the bloc is pushing “foreign” ideas that threaten to undermine Polish sovereignty.Law and Justice has seized on European Union complaints about Poland’s illiberal course as evidence that the bloc is pushing “foreign” ideas that threaten to undermine Polish sovereignty.
Protests of this scale have not been seen in the country since the Solidarity movement in the 1980s that led to the collapse of the communist government, according to analysts. Protests of this scale have not been held in Poland since the Solidarity movement in the 1980s that led to the collapse of the communist government.
This time, protesters are using an intentionally vulgar slogan to shock people and send the message that well-mannered approaches have not worked. And they have broken the longstanding social taboo against challenging the church. This time, protesters are using an intentionally vulgar slogan to send the message that well-mannered approaches have not worked. They have also broken a longstanding social taboo against challenging the Catholic church — perhaps the most influential pillar of Polish society since the fall of communism — which has long pressured the government to tighten or eliminate access to abortion.
The Catholic church, perhaps the most influential pillar of Polish society since the fall of communism, has long pressured the government to tighten or eliminate access to abortion. In late October, women’s rights protesters disrupted church services across the country, holding up banners that read, “This is war,” “We have had enough” and “We will not be victimized.” Groups of young women and men confronted priests in some places, and protesters painted graffiti on the walls of churches and cathedrals across the country.
In late October, women’s rights protesters disrupted church services all over Poland, holding up anti-government and anti-church banners that read: “This is war,” or “We have had enough,” and “We will not be victimized.” Since the demonstrations began, people opposing the movement have defended churches and confronted the protesters, sometimes using physical force.
Groups of young men and women confronted priests in some places, and protesters painted graffiti on the walls of churches and cathedrals across the country. Since the beginning of the demonstrations, far-right activists have been defending churches and confronting the protesters, sometimes using physical force, in a reflection of what critics say is an alliance between the government, the Catholic Church and far-right groups. In Konstancin Jeziorna, a leafy suburb of Warsaw, a monument to Pope John Paul II was doused with red paint — a once-unthinkable affront to a national hero.
In Konstancin Jeziorna, a leafy suburb of Warsaw, a monument to Pope John Paul II was doused with red paint — a once-unithinkable affront to a national hero. In a notable exchange in Parliament on Oct. 28, lawmakers led by a member of the opposition party Lewica wore black T-shirts bearing the lighting bolt symbol of the day’s nationwide strike and held up placards as they confronted Law and Justice members.
In a remarkable exchange in Parliament on Oct. 28, lawmakers led by a member of the opposition party Lewica wore black t-shirts bearing the lighting bolt symbol of the day’s nationwide strike and held up placards as they confronted Law and Justice members.
Under communism, Poland and other Soviet bloc states had some of the most liberal abortion laws. Women’s rights activists used to help Swedes travel to Poland for abortions.
But the country now has one of the most restrictive abortion laws among the world’s wealthier countries, adopted in 1993. The high court ruling moves the country even farther from the mainstream.
Nearly all of Europe has abortion on demand, up to a certain point in pregnancy. The United States does, as well, though many states have made access to it difficult.
On the day of the top court’s ruling on abortions, the governments of Poland, the United States and several other countries, including Uganda, Hungary, Belarus and Saudi Arabia, signed the Geneva Consensus Declaration, a statement challenging the right to abortion.
Anatol Magdziarz contributed reporting.Anatol Magdziarz contributed reporting.