Polish government rejects abortion ban legislation after country-wide protests

Following the Black Monday protests made up of tens of thousands of Polish people, the Polish government rejected a bill introducing a total ban on abortion. The bill caused a great deal of controversy and public anger in Poland, when it was revealed it would introduce a law making women legally liable for a performed abortion and in some cases even send them to prison.

“I’m outraged by the hypocrisy of those who want to ban abortion in the name of protecting life, while there’s always a woman’s life at stake. I will be protesting on the streets till the end of this nightmare,” says Joanna Glinkowska a member of the Black Monday protest in Lodz.

Despite the rejection of the bill the fight for free choice of all of women is far from over. The current ruling conservative Law and Justice party seeks a total criminalization of abortion, regardless of circumstances, making it illegal to terminate a foetus which is a consequence of a rape or incest or even when it endangers the mother’s life. The MPs rejected the project, because the most controversial part of the legislation was the prison sentences, which turned out to be too extreme even for the ruling populist party.

The conflict between the Polish women and the government has even found its way into the European Parliament, which received hundreds of desperate letters from Polish women. The MEPs debated over the proposed legislation on Wednesday evening. While the Polish MEPs showed nothing but disregard for the issue, the Spanish MEP Angela Vallina as quoted by the ‘Polityka’ magazine expressed her solidarity with Polish women: “Under no circumstances should we allow religious radicalism to dictate the course of a democratic country. The right of choice is a fundamental right of every human being, and nobody should be stripped of this right in the 21st century”.

Human rights groups have expressed deep concerns with the spreading controversy, warning that implementing this legislation will not only strip women of their rights, but also endanger both the mother and the child. With such laws in place, doctors might be discouraged to carry out prenatal tests, which are essential to every healthy pregnancy.

“I obviously think that a woman should have full access to prenatal testing, and be allowed to make a decision about continuing the pregnancy, especially when the foetus shows signs of serious impairments,” says Martyna Czerwinska, who attended the Black Protest in Cracow.

The ongoing not-so-secret partnership between the country’s government and the highly influential catholic church, divides the Poles and induces anger of the secular and less radical catholic parts of the society. The rejection of the bill however proves that a common effort of thousands of people can no longer be ignored by Law and Justice, making it possible for the public to actively influence the course of democracy.

It is almost certain that the government will introduce yet another bill in order to tighten the abortion law, however with the support of Europe and strong opposition from the Polish people there’s a chance for a law worthy of a modern European country.

Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of the Law and Justice party, who was never married or had children himself, has finally learned that picking a fight with a mother, a wife, a girlfriend and above all, a woman is never a good idea.