Polish abortion protests: Women dress in black and take to streets to march against new restrictive proposals

Women in Poland are planning to strike on Monday by boycotting jobs and classes, following another set of protests against planned abortion laws on Sunday.

Protests in Warsaw and other cities across the country saw women donning black clothes and taking to the streets on Sunday over fresh proposals to ban almost all abortions, even in cases where foetuses are unviable or have severe abnormalities.

Women in the capital gathered outside the parliament building to condemn the Catholic church’s influence on the country’s political parties on Sunday, shouting “We have had enough!”

Poland already has one of the strictest abortion laws in Europe, outlawing the procedure unless the pregnancy puts the woman’s life in danger, is a result of rape or incest, or the foetus is irreparably damaged.

But the head of Poland’s ruling Law and Justice party, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, said recently he wants a new law that that would ensure women carry foetuses to term in even in cases of Down’s Syndrome or when there is no chance of survival. It would allow for baptisms and burials, he said.

“We will strive to ensure that even in pregnancies which are very difficult, when a child is sure to die, strongly deformed women end up giving birth so that the child can be baptised, buried and have a name,” he said in an interview with the Polish PaP news agency.

Sunday’s demonstrations were held under the slogan: “We are not folding up our umbrellas,” referencing similar protests held three weeks ago that took place in response to proposals of a total abortion ban, when women protested under umbrellas in the rain.

At the time, government officials backed away from plans for a total abortion ban, including in cases of pregnancies that are the result of rape or that put the mother’s life at risk, after the protests and strike resulted in the closure of government offices, universities and schools in 60 cities.

But Mr Kaczynski’s socially conservative party won parliamentary and presidential elections last year with backing from the Roman Catholic Church, Catholic media outlets and religious voters.

Many have seen the government’s proposals to tighten abortion laws as an attempt to repay its debt to the religious supporters.

Poland has a population of 38 million and sees 1,040 abortions carried out each year, according to official statistics, though women’s groups estimate an additional 100,000 to 150,000 abortions are performed either illegally or abroad annually.

Additional reporting by AP