Thousands gathered outside the national parliament in Warsaw while there were demonstrations in several other Polish cities – and a separate event outside the Polish embassy in London – to oppose a measure that would outlaw terminating pregnancies except where necessary to save a woman’s life.
Poland, Europe’s most devoutly Catholic country, already has some of the continent’s most stringently anti-abortion statutes.
Legislators are expected to start debating on Wednesday even tougher rules drawn up by a rightwing thinktank with the backing of the Catholic church and the Law and Justice (PiS) governing party. A petition supporting the crackdown has gained more than 100,000 signatures.
If passed, the legislation would introduce jail sentences of up to five years for causing “the death of a conceived child”. It would apply both to women seeking abortions and doctors and health professional carrying them out. [...]
Fewer than 1,000 legal abortions are carried out in Poland each year, according to the health ministry. But independent groups have estimated that between 80,000 and 190,000 Polish women undergo terminations annually, either in “backstreet” procedures or by travelling abroad.
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