Protesters call for near-total ban on abortions in Poland

Anti-abortion groups have held marches across Poland in support of calls for a near-total ban on terminations in the staunchly Catholic country, where abortions are already heavily restricted.

 

The current law adopted in 1993 bans all terminations except in pregnancies that result from rape or incest, pose a health risk to the mother, or where the foetus is severely deformed.

 

Now activists backed by the Catholic church want to table a citizens’ bill in parliament that would allow abortions only when necessary to save a woman’s life. The proposal would also increase the maximum prison sentence for people who perform unauthorised abortions from two years to five.

 

Read More: Protesters call for near-total ban on abortions in Poland | World news | The Guardian