An anti-abortion court decision on October 22 has sparked massive marches, strikes, and road blockades across Poland. In the past few weeks hundreds of thousands of women and allies have taken to the streets to call for an end to the oppressive, anti-woman policies of the right wing government.
The court decision, which was pushed by far-right politicians and the reactionary leadership of the Catholic Church, would outlaw abortions in the event of fetal defects, which accounted for 98% of legal abortions last year. Already abortions have been effectively illegal since 1993 (except in the rare cases that women can convince a judge that she’s been the victim of rape or incest).
Represented by the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, the far right in Poland has been waging a brutal war on the rights of women, LGBTQ folks, and workers. They have also been organizing fascist militias to enforce their rule. This same government proposed the building of a “Fort Trump” in honor of the U.S. fascist in chief. In August, the U.S. worked out a deal to deploy between 5,000 and 20,000 troops to Poland to threaten Russia.
In 2016 the PiS tried to ban abortions completely but tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets forcing the parliament to back down. This just goes to show that when the people mobilize to defend themselves, we can beat back against the harshest of attacks. Louisiana women, take note!