Poland abortion ban: Thousands of women take to streets across country to demand reproductive rights

Poland abortion ban: Thousands of women take to streets across country to demand reproductive rights
Wave of demonstrations follow proposal to ban termination of sick foetuses

Lydia Smith
Jan 17, 2018

Women across Poland are set to protest against attempts by the government to further restrict access to abortion.

Demonstrations across at least 50 cities have been organised by Polish Women’s Strike, a coalition of women’s rights groups.

Pro-choice demonstrators plan to wear black as a sign of mourning for their reproductive rights, which have come under threat under the ruling conservative Law and Justice party (Prawo i Sprawiedliwosc, or PiS).

Continued: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/poland-women-abortion-ban-march-strike-protest-reproductive-rights-polish-government-latest-a8163281.html

How women’s rights have still been hit despite abortion ban climbdown in Poland

How women’s rights have still been hit despite abortion ban climbdown in Poland
By Chris Harris
Oct 17, 2017

Poland may have kicked a near-total abortion ban into the long grass but women’s sexual and reproductive rights have taken a hit in the last year, campaigners have told Euronews.

Around 100,000 people hit the streets on October 3 last year to protest against moves to outlaw all cases of women terminating their pregnancies.

The civil disobedience – called the Black Protest – forced the government to abandon the proposals

But activists claim women’s rights have still been hit over the last year as the government introduced more subtle changes to discourage abortion.

Continued at source: http://www.euronews.com/2017/10/17/how-women-s-rights-have-still-been-hit-despite-abortion-ban-climbdown-in-poland

Poland abortion ban protests: Women’s rights, conservative gender roles highlighted

Janka Hrckova Updated: Oct 9, 2016 08:31 IST, FirstPost.com

After a series of protests in the first week of October 2016, the Polish government announced it would not be pushing through a proposed legislation that would effectively ban abortions in the country.

The sudden u-turn of the government came as a surprise to many, yet few perceive defending the shaky status quo as a victory.

The current abortion law has been in place since the early 1990s and counts as one of the most restrictive in Europe. It is widely referred to as a ‘compromise’ between the Catholic Church and the more liberal groups in the society. However, the compromise granted little to the liberal camp, as women’s right to choose was disregarded and exceptions were only granted in cases of rape, incest, when the life of the fetus is under threat or when the mother’s health is in grave danger. And pundits assume that the ruling party will soon attempt to come up with yet another ‘compromise’ solution, further tightening the already strict law and parading it as a concession to the protesters.

[continued at link]
Source FirstPost.com

Polish women to stage all-out strike to protest abortion ban

Country’s government considering tightening local laws on terminations

by Siobhan Fenton Social Affairs Correspondent
Friday 30 September 2016

Women in Poland are to stage an all-out strike to protest the country’s plan to effectively ban abortions.

Female workers across the predominantly Catholic country will take part in the action on Monday, in an effort to disruptively draw attention to attempts to restrict Poland’s severely limited abortion laws even further.

Those taking part hope the strike will bring Polish society and the economy to a standstill.

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Source: The INdependent

30.09.2016

Events/Campaigns

Featured

black protest

Black protest in poland

“Black Protest” against abortion ban take the streets of Poland

Published September 26, 2016
By Giacomo Galardini

Thousands of participants across Poland took to the streets Sunday against the new law advanced recently by the ruling party Law and Justice (PiS) which would ban all abortions.

The gatherings took place in Poland’s ten biggest cities and also in other major cities worldwide under the slogan #CzarnyProtest (Black Protest), put forward and organized by Dziewuchy dziewuchom (Wenches to Wenches), a feminist organization which opposes the strengthening of the current abortion regulations.

The demonstrations also gained support from a variety of anti-PiS political groups such as The Committee for Defense of Democracy (Komitet Obrony Demokracji, KOD) and the left-wing political party Razem (Together). The feminist organization has put together similar protests since the bill was brought to the table earlier this year by a citizens’ initiative backed by the Catholic Church.

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Source: New Europe

26.09.2016

Events/Campaigns

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News

Black protest in poland

Federation of Women and Family Planning

Krystyna Kacpura

pro-choice demonstration

“Black Protest” against abortion ban in Poland

September 25, 2016
Posted by Steven Hoffman

Amid September sunshine, street vendors, and a public awareness campaign for heart disease, over 1,000 Cracovians gathered on the Main Square dressed in black. They were there to protest a law advanced by the ruling PiS party which would ban all abortions.

One of ten such gatherings around the country (and more in major cities worldwide), the demonstration, #CzarnyProtest (Black Protest), was organized by Dziewuchy dziewuchom (Wenches to wenches) and drew support from a variety of anti-PiS political groups like The Committee for Defense of Democracy (Komitet Obrony Demokracji, KOD) and fledgling political party Razem (Together). The feminist organization has put together similar protests since the bill was brought to the table earlier this year by a citizens’ initiative backed by the Catholic Church.

The existing law, according to a poll this week by Newsweek Polska, is supported by 74% of Poles and only permits around 2,000 legal abortions per year – in the case of a life-threatening pregnancy, a pregnancy as the result of proven rape or incest, or a seriously malformed fetus.

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Source: Krakow Post

25.09.2016

Black protest in poland

The Committee for Defense of Democracy