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Protests in Warsaw on Monday: "PISs OFF"
Photo:
Andrzej Iwanczuk / REPORTER / imago images / Eastnews
In the dispute over a significant tightening of the abortion ban in Poland, the Polish women's movement has called for a nationwide strike on Wednesday.
"We are taking unpaid leave. We are closing the company. Or quite simply - we are not going to work," said an appeal by the organization "All-Polish Women's Strike".
Head Marta Lempart spoke of a general strike.
In view of the corona pandemic, however, it is questionable how high the participation will be.
After a decision by the Constitutional Court that abortions due to severe malformations in the unborn child are also unconstitutional, there have been protests in Poland for days.
The decision of the chief judges means a further tightening of the Polish abortion law, which is already one of the strictest in Europe.
Abortion is currently legal in Poland if the pregnancy endangers the life or health of the mother, is the result of rape or if the unborn child has severe malformations.
This is the most common reason for an abortion so far, according to statistics from the Ministry of Health.
Of the 1110 abortions that were carried out in Polish clinics in 2019, 1074 were caused by malformations in the unborn child.
Protests and tumult in parliament too
The protests against the drastic tightening of abortion law have also reached parliament: According to the PAP news agency, there was a commotion on Tuesday.
The deputy chairman of parliament Ryszard Terlecki from the national conservative ruling party PiS compared the symbols on the masks of opposition MPs with those of Nazis.
The protest symbol on the mask shows a red lightning bolt - and is directed against the judgment of the Constitutional Court on abortion.
Several MPs then ran to the podium in protest.
Two opposition MPs were expelled from the Chamber.
In the evening there were protests against the tightening in the country for the sixth day in a row.
Warsaw's Lord Mayor supports the protests
Four years ago, the Polish women's movement managed to stop a similar bill.
He had envisaged a total ban on abortions and imprisonment for women and doctors.
On October 3, 2016, around 200,000 women stayed away from work during a "general strike".
Shortly afterwards, the national conservative ruling party PiS rowed back.
This time, however, the conditions are different because of the corona pandemic.
In the face of mounting economic pressure, many workers may shy away from participating in the strike.
Among the nursing staff, where the proportion of women is very high, about 30 percent of employees are also in quarantine, said Zofia Malas from the Chamber of Nurses and Midwives.
Warsaw's liberal-conservative mayor Rafal Trzaskowski said he supported the action.
The city administration will enable its employees to participate.
Buses and trams would be flagged as a sign of solidarity with the protesters on Wednesday.
Trzaskowski was challenged by incumbent Andrzej Duda in the presidential election in the summer, but narrowly lost the runoff election.
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