“We voted for the government that promised us civil unions,” a protester said. “We voted for the government that promised us abortion.”
ADVERTISEMENTPolish women’s rights groups in Warsaw have protested against the parliament’s rejection of a bill aimed at changing the country’s restrictive abortion law.
Several women’s groups organised the protest on Tuesday, the final day of session for the Sejm, Poland’s lower house of parliament, before the summer recess began.
On 12 July, the lower house rejected the bill decriminalising abortion, which stated that anyone who assisted a woman in terminating her pregnancy would not face prosecution, with 215 MPs voting in favour and 218 voting against.
“We are here because we want to show that abortion is something we need,” a protester said. “We need it regulated now and we need what the government promised us.”
“We voted for the government that promised us civil unions,” she added. “We voted for the government that promised us abortion.”
Men were also present at the rally: “I have a wife, I have a daughter, and I stand in solidarity with women,” said one participant. “Even more so, men should have nothing to say in the matter. And if anything, they simply should support women.”
The right to a free and safe abortion was one of the reasons for the exceptionally high turnout in Poland’s parliamentary elections in 2023.
Many young people wanted changes after successive years of having the right-wing populist Law and Justice party, headed by Jarosław Kaczyński, in power.
The liberalisation of abortion law was one of the main objectives of current Prime Minister Donald Tusk in his programme that brought his coalition to victory.
In mid-July, the Polish parliament rejected an amendment to the Penal Code that would have decriminalised assisted abortion and the termination of pregnancy with the consent of the pregnant woman up to the 12th week.
Responding to a question about disagreement in parliament over changes in abortion law, Tusk acknowledged the women protesting for their rights at a press conference in Warsaw yesterday.
“All those women who have been involved in the liberalisation of abortion law for years, have already given a very clear signal, many times, that a return to the compromise, that is being pushed by the Polish People’s Party and Poland 2050, is an unacceptable situation,” he said.
Both the Polish People’s Party and Poland 2050 are centre-right parties that make up part of the current coalition government.