In January, Poland rejected a bill that would increase women’s access to abortion. this bill would also include sex education in the school systems, provide emergency contraceptives to women without a prescription, and offer free and accessible contraceptives. In response to the rejection of this bill, Polish men and women have gathered in historic numbers to protest for women’s right to proper health-care. On January 13th, thousands of Polish citizens gathered in front of Warsaw to protest the rejection of the pro-choice bill.
Another large protest occurred in October of 2017. Nicknamed “Black Monday”, women skipped work and wore all black to protest a bill that would ban abortion in all cases except when the mother’s life is threatened. Black Monday was extremely successful, three days after the protest 352 of the 428 lawmakers voted against the bill.
While Poland is still fighting strict abortion laws, it is clear that Polish women won’t back down without a fight.