Poland has some of the most restrictive laws in Europe when it comes to abortion. According to CNN, an estimated 80,000 Polish women a year go abroad or seek illegal abortions at home, according to Polish women’s rights groups.
The procedure is legal in only three cases: if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest, or if it endangers the life of the mother.
This day, Friday, Polish women took to the streets to peacefully protest Poland’s recent crackdown on abortion.
Named ‘Black Friday, solidarity with Polish women!’, the demonstration protests the contentious ‘Stop Abortion’ bill, that was proposed by conservative groups in collaboration with the Polish Catholic church.
Now, the government is pushing through a new bill targeting the third and — most commonly cited – reason for abortion: damage to the fetus.
Poland is one of the few countries in the world to outlaw abortion after decades of complete legalisation and as a result Polish women often seek abortion in neighbouring countries due to the strict restraints in their own country, or are forced to go to less-safe underground abortion clinics.
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