Thousands Block Dozens Of Roads Across Poland To Protest Anti-Abortion Court Ruling

Topline

Demonstrators blocked of roads across Poland in the fifth straight day of protests following a court ruling that blocks abortion in the vast majority of cases in the European country, one of the last in the region to restrict women’s access to the procedure.

Key Facts

Surprising Fact

According to the BBC, there were just more than 1,000 legal terminations carried out in Poland last year. But women’s groups estimate as many as 120,000 Polish women may have undergone the procedure abroad. Traveling to a country with laxer laws to terminate a pregnancy is a relatively common move for citizens of European countries with strict legislation, like Malta or Ireland before it was decriminalized there two years ago.

Tangent

Last week, Poland joined the United States and dozens of other United Nations member states in signing a declaration against abortion. Besides the U.S., none of the signatories scored higher than 95th on Georgetown University’s Women, Peace and Security Index, which ranks the well-being and empowerment of women around the world. The United Nations has been clear that it considers access to abortion services an essential form of health care, despite pressure from the U.S. and its allies.

Key Background

A handful of Europe’s more conservative, Catholic countries have eased restrictions on abortions over the past few years. In 2018, Ireland voted in a landslide to repeal the 8th Amendment that declared abortion unconsutitional. Almost exactly a year ago, the procedure was decriminalized in Northern Ireland, a move that brought the country’s abortion regulations in line with the rest of the United Kingdom. Poland and Malta, a tiny Mediterranean island country, are the only nations in the European Union that still have tough restrictions on access to abortion procedures. 

Further Reading

Poland abortion ruling: Protesters block roads across country (BBC)

Polish court ruling amounts to almost total ban on abortion (Reuters)