Women in Poland boycotted their jobs and classes as part of a nationwide strike in protest against a new law that would in effect ban abortion.
Thousands of people protested on Saturday in front of the parliament in Warsaw. Women were wearing black as a sign of mourning for the feared loss of reproductive rights; they have also warned that some women will die if the proposal passes as it stands now.
Poland already has some of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe, with terminations legally permitted only when there is severe foetal abnormality, when there is a grave threat to the health of the mother, or if the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest.
The new law which would criminalise all terminations, with women punishable with up to five years in prison also include Doctors found to have assisted with a termination would also be liable for prosecution and a prison term.
Although the ban has received public support from elements within the Catholic church and Poland’s ruling rightwing Law and Justice party (PiS), neither initiated the proposals.
They were drafted by hardline conservative advocacy group Ordo Iuris and submitted by the Stop Abortion Coalition as a “citizens’ initiative” – a petition considered by parliament once it has received more than 100,000 signatures.
