Thousands protest across Poland for free and legal abortion on anniversary of 2020 ruling
Thousands of people protested in more than 20 towns and cities across Poland on 22 October, calling for free and legal abortion services, Al Jazeera reported. The demonstrations fell on the sixth anniversary of a ruling by the Constitutional Tribunal, Poland's highest court, that imposed a near-total ban on abortion.
Abortion is currently legal in Poland only when a pregnancy results from a criminal act, such as rape or incest, or when it threatens the life or health of the mother. Restrictive laws have been in place since 1993. The 2020 ruling was followed by weeks of mass protest, and that same year the Law and Justice (PiS) government banned abortions of foetuses with congenital defects.
Days before the latest protests, Poland's parliament passed two bills easing abortion restrictions. Reuters reported that the lawmakers' vote faced a likely veto from President Karol Nawrocki, whom Al Jazeera describes as conservative. A veto is a head of state's formal refusal to sign a bill into law.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government promised to liberalise abortion laws before winning the 2023 election. According to The Guardian, Tusk had also promised to overhaul the laws within 100 days of taking power. Earlier abortion protests are credited with helping bring Tusk to power.
The 22 October demonstrations were promoted by Ogólnopolski Strajk Kobiet, a group whose name translates as National Women's Strike. The group called on supporters to join protests in larger cities and demanded legal abortion up to the 12th week of pregnancy. The events ran under the slogan "Czerwona kartka za aborcję", or "red card for abortion", and the hashtag #czerwonakartka.
In Warsaw, about 1,000 people gathered in front of parliament despite rain. Other locations reported in Polish media included Gdańsk, Poznań, Katowice, Kielce and Jelenia Góra. Several hundred women protested in Bydgoszcz, and members of the group marched through the streets of Lublin.
Under Polish law, women who have abortions, including by taking pills, do not face criminal responsibility. People who help women obtain abortions, including doctors and family members, can potentially be prosecuted.
Polish hospitals performed 573 abortions in the first half of 2026, according to data from the National Health Fund. In the whole of 2022, the figure was 452.
