On October 22nd, the Polish Constitutional Tribunal issued a ruling that „abortion in the case of a high probability of severe and irreversible impairment of the foetus or an incurable disease that threatens the foetus” is contrary to the Polish Constitution. Pro-abortion organizations reacted with uproar and the opposition mobilized its supporters. During public protests leftist activists entered Catholic churches and disrupted liturgy. There were also attacks on monuments of the pope John Paul II.
The ruling made by the Polish Constitutional Tribunal will change, after its publication, the way the Family Planning Act from 1993 is interpreted. This act allowed abortion in three cases: incurable disease or severe impairment of the foetus, existing threat to a woman’s life or when a pregnancy is the result of a rape. Until now the largest group of aborted babies was those suspected of having a Down syndrome and that’s why this case was broadly perceived by pro-life groups and the Catholic Church as a problem of eugenic selection.
Wesprzyj nas już teraz!
Pro-abortion groups in Poland launched their next campaign. They describe the current situation as “women’s hell” and depict this constitutional ruling as the use of torture against women. They received support from Polish and European leftists parties and organizations. Some Polish leftist MPs participated in demonstrations organized in major Polish cities. Foreign liberal media emphasize that “Poland goes further away from European mainstream and European standards”. Those “spontaneous” protests took place in time when Poland is fighting with COVID-19 epidemics, in the last few days there were daily more than 10,000 new cases and many hospitals are paralyzed.
In Cracow those pro-abortion protesters met near the Archbishops Palace, a symbolic place closely connected with John Paul II (who was an archbishop of Cracow since 1964 to 1978). Many participating women were holding “My body – my choice” banners and chanting vulgar slogans. In Poznan demonstrators disrupted the celebration of the Holy Mass in the arch-cathedral and vandalized the pope’s monument. In Warsaw protesters gathered around Holy Cross Church but the entrance to the church was protected by members of the Independence March Guard (activists involved in organizing Independency Day in March in Warsaw, routinely depicted by liberal and foreign media as “nationalistis”), who were also protecting some other churches in Warsaw. On 25th of October the police arrested in the Polish capital 14 people and fined 35. On October 25th, a leftist politician, Joanna Scheuring-Wielgus together with her husband disrupted the liturgy in St. Jacobs Church in Torun, where, as she emphasized, their of marriage ceremony took place. During all demonstrations the anti-Catholic and anti-governmental slogans were raised.
The anti-Catholic character of those events provoked a reaction throughout the whole country. A special statement was issued by the archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki, archbishop of Poznan and the president of Polish Bishops Conference. As he explained, Catholic position is very clear as it comes to the protection of human life and the Church in Poland won’t stop teaching it. He condemned liturgy disruption, acts of profanations and attacks on Catholic monuments. Young Catholic men are spontaneously organizing and creating groups that will protect their churches from profanation. At the same time many liberal and progressive journalists and public figures are encouraging the protesters to enter Catholic places of worship. Tomas Lis, the editor-in-chief of “Newsweek” Polish edition, openly wrote that he sees it as a legal and acceptable “form of protest”. Support for such actions was also expressed by Monika Wielowieyska, a journalist working for a liberal newspaper – “Gazeta Wyborcza”.
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