Polish Women Protest Against Plans to Tighten Abortion Rules
- Marches held in 50 cities, hundreds gathered at Warsaw rally
- Leftist groups seek to gain relevance with pro-choice protests
Thousands of women march in a protest of a new abortion law proposal in Warsaw, Poland on Jan. 17, 2018.
Photographer: Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Polish women took to the streets in protest against the conservative ruling party’s plans to tighten what are already some of Europe’s most restrictive abortion rules.
Leftist parties, which failed to win parliamentary representation in the last election in 2015, are seeking to rally supporters behind the issue, after massive protests last year forced the ruling Law & Justice party to retreat from plans to ban all abortions, even in cases of rape. Wednesday’s protests, which organizers said were held in about 50 cities, also seek to highlight the weakness of opposition lawmakers, many of whom didn’t show up at a vote last week over starting parliamentary work on a bill to liberalize access to abortions.