Polish women in 'black protest' against bid to ban abortion
A throng of protesters, among them many black-clad women, gathered in front of the Warsaw headquarters of Poland’s Law and Justice (PiS) ruling party on Monday to protest against a bid to tighten the country’s abortion regulations.
The protesters brandished banners and placards reading "A woman is not an incubator," "My body, my business," and "Education and contraception instead of prohibitions."
The protest followed a demonstration by the parliament buildings in the Polish capital on Saturday in response to a "citizens’ initiative" seeking to impose a total ban on abortion in the country.
Poland's lawmakers on Sept. 23 voted to proceed with work on a bill seeking to introduce an outright ban on abortion. At the same time, they rejected a proposal to relax the country’s current restrictive abortion regulations.
Under Poland's current abortion regulations, which date to 1993, abortion is illegal in the country except when the pregnancy poses a threat to the woman's health or life, if it results from a crime such as incest or rape, or when there is a high probability that the foetus is severely and irreversibly deformed. The current abortion law is a compromise between the country's liberal and conservative circles. (PAP)
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