Women’s rights advocates and allies in Poland vowed Thursday to continue to fight a near-total ban on abortion, calling it a breach of human rights and a sign that the country is regressing.
The constitutional court ruling, which abruptly came into effect Wednesday night, tightened Poland’s already restrictive laws to further ban abortions in cases of fetal abnormalities. It spurred thousands of outraged Poles to take to the streets to express their defiance, despite limits on public gatherings because of the coronavirus pandemic.
"This decision is a declaration of war,” Marta Lempart, a protest organizer, said in a phone interview Thursday.