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Jan Puhl, DER SPIEGEL:
"In this case, without any social debate, via the detour of the constitutional tribunal, PiS pushed through a decisive ideological decision for many - Poland is very Catholic - a very important area, a conservative decision. And people do not want to put up with that."
For days, people have been taking to the streets almost everywhere in Poland to demonstrate against the tightening of the abortion law.
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in front of the presidential palace in Warsaw at the weekend, and there were repeated clashes with the police.
The predominantly Catholic country is also experiencing protests directly at and in churches for the first time - like here in Warsaw.
The Polish Constitutional Court had previously tightened the already strict abortion law.
Up until now, pregnant women have had the right to have an abortion if the mother's life is directly threatened, if the mother has been raped, and if the fetus is seriously damaged or terminally ill.
A deformed or damaged fetus is currently the cause of almost all legal abortions in Poland.
Thus, there is now a de facto ban on interventions in Poland.
Jan Puhl, DER SPIEGEL:
"This third aspect, this medical indication, has now been overturned by the constitutional tribunal. This not only outrages women, as I said, but also many men. Above all, because the whole thing does not come across as a legal decision by a court that is only formally, but in terms of Truth is a political decision, because the national conservative ruling PiS has been dominating the constitutional tribunal for some time. (...) "
Officially, there were only around 1100 legal abortions in Poland in 2018.
Experts estimate that up to 150,000 pregnant women either had illegal abortions or traveled to other European countries for the procedure - mainly to the Czech Republic, Germany and the Ukraine.
This is well known in Poland.
But something else is now also driving people onto the streets.
Jan Puhl, DER SPIEGEL:
"In addition, there is of course the fundamental conflict behind it: What kind of Poland do we actually want? Do we want a Poland that is somehow traditionally based on Catholic values, increasingly reminiscent of the nation? Or should Poland be a country in which the protection of Minorities, rights, is upheld by women, equality, the principle of equality? That is the meta-level above the concrete dispute over the abortion law. "
Poland's ruling party, the PiS, knows that the tightening of abortion law it is promoting is unpopular in Poland.
According to surveys from last year, more than 50 percent want to keep the law as it is.
Only 15 percent are in favor of tightening.
According to observers, however, from time to time PiS also has to serve the right-wing fringes of the population and make symbolically important decisions - also to secure the support of the church.
Jan Puhl, DER SPIEGEL:
"The mood is extremely charged in Poland. A ditch has been going on for quite a while, you could really say, through families. It's a very polarized political climate. PiS promotes that on the one hand, they incite it, for example through resolutions like the so-called LGBT-free zones that have been introduced in some regions. On the other hand, one has to be very clear: despite the vehemence of the protests, this does not really endanger the PiS rule. It may make it unpopular for the moment. But as I said, there is still a lot of time until the next elections. "
