Poles are protesting despite a government ban on the collection of more than five people due to an increase in coronavirus cases. The country’s leadership faces criticism that the court’s decision should not have been made during the pandemic.
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Thousands of people took to the streets in Warsaw and other cities on Monday, complicating traffic on the main streets and downtown. “I want an election, not a terror,” said one of the slogans reminded by Polish opponents of tightening the abortion law. According to the onet.pl server, they managed to stop traffic during rush hour in some places. In addition to Warsaw, residents of Krakow, Katowice, Opole, Poznan, Wroclaw and other cities also went to demonstrate in this way. According to the organizers, it was demonstrated in more than 150 cities, writes AP.
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“In the seaside town of Koszalin, a thousand people blocked the main roundabout by keeping protesters crossing the crossings. In Krakow, a group of about 300 cars drove in a convoy to the city center and other protesters began a blockade there, “described the Polish agency PAP.
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The worst situation took place in the Polish capital, where the intersection in the Mokotów district was being blocked. In Warsaw, a car pulled into a crowd of protesters at the intersection of Goworkova and Pulawska streets, knocking down two women. One was transported to the hospital with minor injuries. The driver left the place, said RMF24 server. Protesters in the capital headed for the Constitutional Court building, which was protected by heavily-clothed people.
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Due to the growing number of coronavirus cases in the country, the Polish government called on protesters to end the demonstrations. “What has been going on in recent days is absolutely unacceptable. Anti-pandemic measures are being violated, “said Michal Dworczyk, head of the office of Polish Prime Minister, on RMF radio. The number of newly confirmed cases of coronavirus has been rising recently in the country, and the government has tightened measures against the spread of the disease since Saturday, including banning more than five people from meeting.
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In addition to the court’s decision, the president of the Polish Medical Chamber, Andrzej Matyja, also criticized its timing on Radio Zet on Sunday. “As a doctor, I’m upset. I think not just me, but all the doctors. Deciding at such a difficult time for society as if there were no other problems. It forces people to mass protests. I think that is a provocation, “said Matyja.
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A wave of demonstrations broke out in Poland after the Constitutional Court on Thursday found that abortion due to fetal damage was unconstitutional. The finding, in line with the wishes of the ruling Conservative Catholic Law and Justice (PiS) party, means that abortions are already legal because of the threat to the mother’s life or health, or if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest.
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According to critics, the decision of the constitutional judges will de facto lead to a total ban on legal abortions in Poland. Abortion due to fetal harm has so far been the most common legally permitted exception to the ban on abortions in a Catholic country. According to the AP agency, 1110 legal abortions were performed in Poland last year.
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