Women protest Polish protections for unborn as pro-abortion measures advance

Women in Poland protested in more than 20 cities and towns on Thursday against protections for unborn babies. Last week, the Polish Parliament passed two abortion measures, but conservative President Karol Nawrocki is expected to veto them both. Protesters gathered in front of the Polish Parliament in Warsaw and across other Polish cities.

What were the protesters demanding? In a Tuesday press conference, Julianna Łoboda of the pro-abortion Widzialne Foundation announced five demands including the removal of all protections for the unborn up until the 12th week of pregnancy, full decriminalization for abortionists, and full access to abortion drugs at every pharmacy. They are also asking for action by local authorities to disperse protests by pro-life people held outside hospitals in Warsaw and Gdańsk and the AboTak abortion facility in Warsaw.

Agnieszka Czerederecka of the National Women’s Strike also addressed Prime Minister Donald Tusk, reiterating what she said was his promise of legalized and accessible abortion. Protesters accused Tusk’s liberal government of failing to deliver on its promise to weaken protections for the unborn, despite parliament’s passage of two bills on Tuesday aimed at relaxing the protections. Conservative President Nawrocki will likely veto the bills because according to his chief of staff, the president said Tuesday that he supported the protection of life from conception to natural death.

What were the two abortion bills? The first bill would partially decriminalize abortion and remove criminal penalties for assisting someone in obtaining one, an offense currently punishable by up to three years in prison. The second bill would overturn the effects of a 2020 constitutional tribunal ruling that banned abortion in cases of severe fetal abnormalities. 

Abortion is currently only allowed in Poland when a pregnancy results from a crime, such as rape or incest, or when it threatens the mother’s life or health.

What do pro-lifers in Poland have to say? The Ordo Iuris Institute said Tuesday that the bill to decriminalize abortion would mean no punishment for those aiding or abetting illegal abortions, even if their actions resulted in the death of the pregnant woman. The proposal also included an amendment to the Penal Code, which would exempt those aiding or abetting abortions from criminal liability, even when the child was already viable outside the mother's body. The institute also characterized the bills as grossly flawed, violating the constitutional standard of protection of the life and health of a conceived child and women.

Further, the institute said that the second bill abolished the requirement to perform abortions in a hospital, which, according to the institute's analysis, opened the door to abortions being performed anywhere, even without medical supervision. The Ordo Iuris institute said the bill would also eliminate the requirement to consult a physician other than the one performing the abortion, which would allow abortions for medical reasons not subject to any external verification.