Poland’s abortion-rights protesters show the government a red card
Abortion-rights demonstrations across Poland on October 22 challenged Donald Tusk’s government over unfulfilled reform promises. Campaigners demanded legal abortion up to the twelfth week and wider access to care. The protests marked six years since a court ruling tightened restrictions; two recent parliamentary bills fall short of the changes organisers seek.
Geopolitics··Midday
Campaigners demand the promised reform
Abortion-rights campaigners demonstrated across Poland on October 22, criticising Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government for failing to fulfil its reform promises. Participants called for free, legal abortion and access to care. The demonstrations marked the sixth anniversary of the Constitutional Tribunal’s 2020 ruling removing severe foetal abnormalities as grounds for a legal abortion. Organisers displayed red cards to express their opposition to the government’s record.[1], [2]
Parliament’s bills fall short of demands
Campaigners want legal abortion up to the 12th week, decriminalisation of abortion and assistance, access in publicly financed hospitals and access to the morning-after pill. Shortly before the protests, Poland’s lower house of parliament, the Sejm, approved 2 bills addressing severe foetal abnormalities and criminal responsibility for assistance. The Criminal Code amendment passed with 217 votes for, 213 against and 3 abstentions. Further legislative steps remain necessary.[1]
Protests spread beyond Warsaw
In Warsaw, demonstrators gathered near parliament with placards and red cards. Protesters in Poznań walked from Adam Mickiewicz Square toward a governing-coalition party office. In Bydgoszcz, police used a double cordon to separate abortion-rights demonstrators from opponents. Wrocław’s march headed through the centre toward the market square. Organisers said the recent parliamentary votes did not deliver the changes promised before the 2023 election.[1]
