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Poland backtracks on Church-backed abortion ban after protests

A sea of thousands of umbrellas of women and men participating in a nationwide ¿Black Monday¿ strike to protest a legislative proposal for a total ban on abo

The minister of science and higher education, Jarosław Gowin, said the sudden reversal on the law was due to the widespread opposition. The procedure is allowed only in cases of rape, incest or if the health of the mother or the fetus is at risk.

"The PiS has backtracked because it was scared by all the women who hit the streets in protest", liberal MP and former prime minister Ewa Kopacz told reporters following the committee vote.

"I want to say it very loudly and clearly: the government of Law and Justice was not working and is not working on any law that would change the now binding regulations", Szydlo said. The anti-abortion movement in Poland, a deeply Catholic country, remains strong.

"A total ban certainly won't get through", he said.

Almost half of the country's population supported Monday's protests, an opinion poll carried out for the liberal OKO.press showed.

It's already strict, but a total ban, say these women, is a step too far, and they're coming out in solidarity with a national women's strike in Poland.

PiS government Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski drew the ire of protesters when he wished them "a good time" during Monday's strike.

Prominent members of the right-wing Law and Justice party have signaled that the ban won't be moving forward. "Such restrictions would also constitute a retrogressive measure in contravention to worldwide law". Abortion is now only allowed in cases of rape, incest, badly damaged foetuses or if the mother's life is at risk, and in some cases doctors even refuse to perform legal abortions if they personally oppose the practice, reported The Guardian. Massive protests were held in the rain in the streets of Warsaw, Gdansk, Wroclaw and elsewhere across the largely Catholic nation led by a conservative government.

If the citizens' bill is passed, abortion would only be possible if the woman's life were in danger. Doctors found to have assisted in abortion could also have been sentenced to prison.

A poll published this week by the Newsweek Polska magazine showed that 74 percent of Poles want to keep the existing law.

Nearly half said that existing legislation should remain unchanged, while more than a third said abortion should be more widely available. Compared to around 1,000 or 2,000 legal terminations, between 10,000 and 150,000 illegal abortions are performed there, according to the BBC.

stayontheblack.com

Poland backtracks on Church-backed abortion ban after protests