Poland’s prime minister has appealed for a stop to a week of angry protests against a high court ruling that tightens already strict abortion laws, amid a huge spike in the country’s coronavirus infections
WARSAW, Poland — Poland’s prime minister appealed Thursday for a stop, amid a huge spike in the country’s coronavirus infections, to a week of angry protests against a high court ruling that tightens already strict abortion laws.
Mateusz Morawiecki said the dispute should be resolved through dialogue, instead of through repeated mass street gatherings that are banned under pandemic restrictions. On Thursday, Poland hit a new record of daily infections that exceeded 20,100 in the nation of 38 million.
“I am asking for these protests to be cancelled because of the epidemic,” Morawiecki said.
Large crowds have protested daily over the past week across the predominantly Catholic country, after a top court ruled that abortion of fetuses with congenital defects is unconstitutional. Police estimate that some 430,000 took part in Wednesday’s demonstrations.
Women’s rights activists have called for new mass protests in the capital, Warsaw, on Friday.
Earlier Thursday Poland’s President Andrzej Duda partially broke ranks with his country’s conservative leadership that has pushed for the new abortion restrictions, and said he thinks women should have the right to abortion in some cases.
“It cannot be that the law requires this kind of heroism from a woman,” Duda said in an interview with radio RMF FM. The president said he still favors outlawing abortion in cases of fetuses with non-lethal congenital defects.
Deep divisions that had been brewing for a long time in Poland are now erupting on the streets, with young people heeding a call by women’s rights activists to defend their freedoms.
On Wednesday night, men with a far-right group, All-Polish Youth, attacked women taking part in protests in Wroclaw, Poznan and Bialystok.
Poland’s most powerful politician, right-wing ruling party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, had called for his supporters to come out to defend churches after protesters disrupted Masses and spray-painted churches on Sunday.
A group guarding a church in the northeastern city of Bialystok held a banner in support of the women but saying their anger should be directed against the government, not churches.
Many interpreted Kaczynski’s call as permission for violence against the protesters.
Once the court ruling is published and takes effect, abortion only will be legal when a woman’s health or life is in danger or when a pregnancy results from crime like rape or incest.
Duda’s comments were in contrast to his initial reaction last week, when he welcomed the court ruling. He spoke Thursday against abortions of fetuses with Down syndrome, which are the majority of legal terminations currently performed in Poland. and called for a new law to distinguish between fatal and non-fatal defects.
“I believe that there should be a regulation which, in case of lethal defects, will unequivocally guarantee the rights on the side of the woman,” the president said.
His words have no legal bearing on the court ruling and are not expected to appease protesters.
Duda also signaled a difference of opinion with Kaczynski on the issue of security, saying police should have the sole responsibility for protecting the streets.
