- Title: Polish women in black protest against draft abortion ban
- Date: 3rd October 2016
- Summary: WARSAW, POLAND (OCTOBER 3, 2016) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF CLOSED RESTAURANT CHAIRS UPSIDE DOWN ON TABLE INSIDE RESTAURANT MAN TRYING TO ENTER CLOSED RESTAURANT BANNER, READING: (English): "POLISH WOMEN ON STRIKE" INTERIOR OF RESTAURANT WHERE ONLY MEN ARE WORKING (SOUNDBITE) (Polish) BARMAN, FILIP, SAYING: "Today only men are working at our place because all woman went to the demonstration against the abortion ban." SQUARE PACKED WITH WOMEN DRESSED IN BLACK DEMONSTRATING AGAINST ABORTION BAN VARIOUS OF WOMEN WITH BANNERS (SOUNDBITE) (Polish) PROTESTER, PAULINA, SAYING: "We met here with a big group, a huge group of women who have hope that their fate will be in their hands and will not depend on older gentlemen who probably have no authority on these issues. Some of them have cats instead of children." (Referring to Law and Justice [PiS] leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski) STREET PACKED WITH PROTESTERS BANNER, READING (Polish) "WE WANT TO GIVE BIRTH SAFELY" (SOUNDBITE) (Polish) PROTESER, AGNIESZKA, SAYING: "I think a woman should have the right to decide about her fate, about her life and the future of her child, whether it is born or not. There are situations when women are raped, and forcing them to give birth to that child is cruel." STREET FULL OF PEOPLE (SOUNDBITE) (Polish) PROTESTER, PAULINA, SAYING: "It is not a pro-abortion demonstration. The idea is for women to have education, prenatal testing, to not be prosecuted for the miscarriages, to not be prosecuted because they want to remove a child with Patau Syndrome for instance or with other severe medical conditions." DEMONSTRATION IN FAVOUR OF ABORTION LAW DRAFT PROTECTED BY POLICE
- Embargoed: 18th October 2016 17:16
- Keywords: Poland abortion Black Monday
- Location: WARSAW, POLAND
- City: WARSAW, POLAND
- Country: Poland
- Topics: Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA00152GA153
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Thousands of women in black went on strike across Poland on Monday (September 3), closing down restaurants, government offices and university classes, and blocking access to the ruling party headquarters in Warsaw to protest against plans for a total ban on abortion.
Legislation proposed by an independent group would forbid any termination, tightening Poland's already restrictive rules that allow abortion only in the case of rape, incest or a threat to the mother's health, or when the baby is likely to be permanently handicapped.
Filip, a barman who was working in downtown Warsaw, said all his female co-workers had gone on strike to protest against the draft.
"Today only men are working at our place because all woman went to the demonstration against the abortion ban," he told Reuters.
It is unclear whether the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) government will back the draft law, introduced by the group Ordo Iuris. But the possibility of new restrictions has stirred an intense debate in the staunchly Catholic Poland.
Critics say the proposed rules would discourage doctors from conducting prenatal testing, particularly if procedures carry the risk of miscarriage, or put the life of women with an ectopic pregnancy at risk.
The draft rules allow for termination if a woman's life is in direct danger.
Women and doctors could face prison if convicted of causing what the proposed rules call "death of a conceived child".
Dressed in black, women chanted "We want doctors, not missionaries!" and "Jaroslaw, get out!" in front of the central Warsaw offices of PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski.
Some carried posters saying: "A government is not like a pregnancy - it can be terminated".
"We met here with a big group, a huge group of women who have hope that their fate will be in their hands and will not depend on older gentlemen who probably have no authority on these issues. Some of them have cats instead of children," Paulina, who was dressed in black, said referring to Law and Justice [PiS] leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski.
"It is not a pro-abortion demonstration. The idea is for women to have education, prenatal testing, to not be prosecuted for the miscarriages, to not be prosecuted because they want to remove a child with Patau Syndrome for instance or with other severe medical conditions," she added.
"I think a woman should have the right to decide about her fate, about her life and the future of her child, whether it is born or not," Agnieszka, also dressed in black, said.
Official statistics show several hundred legal abortions are conducted in Poland each year. But activists say many women are denied access to the procedure when doctors invoke a legal right to decline to perform it on moral or religious grounds.
Tens of thousands are done illegally, activists say, with many women crossing the border to Germany or Slovakia to obtain the procedure. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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