On October 22, the Polish constitutional court ruled that abortions, even in cases of fetuses with congenital defect and where the fetus has no chance of surviving after birth, should be banned. This sparked massive protests, the biggest the country has seen in 30 years. Demonstrations were organized by the Women’s Strike, and began with protesters “renaming" a downtown square to Women's Rights Roundabout. One activist even climbed up to hang a new street sign over the original one which said Roman Dmowski Roundabout. This week, protests have included calls to end police violence after officers used tear gas and other means of force against protesters.
Poland already had one of the most conservative abortion laws in Europe, which allowed abortions only in the cases of fetal defects, threat to a woman's health and incest or rape. Due to the scale of ongoing protests, the Polish government has not yet implemented the new law, and activists are looking to keep the pressure while demanding a more liberal abortion law. They also seek the resignation of the country's right-wing government, the Law and Justice (PiS) party, which has come under fire for targeting LGBT groups in recent months.
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