Warsaw, Oct 23:
Women planned demonstrations in more than 20 cities and towns across Poland on Thursday, demanding better access to free and legal abortions and accusing Prime Minister Donald Tuskās government of failing to fulfil its election promises on reproductive rights.
The protests came despite Parliament passing two bills aimed at easing abortion restrictions earlier this week. The proposed measures are expected to face opposition from conservative President Karol Nawrocki, who could veto them.
Zofia Marcinek of the Warsaw-based Abortion Dream Team said the legislative moves amounted to symbolic gestures rather than meaningful reform. Activists argue that the government knew the bills faced little chance of becoming law but was attempting to demonstrate progress ahead of the next parliamentary election.
Poland has some of Europeās strictest abortion laws. Since 1993, abortions have generally been permitted only when the pregnancy results from rape or incest, or when it poses a threat to the motherās life or health. Restrictions were tightened further in 2020, when abortions on the grounds of severe foetal abnormalities were banned.
Although the law does not criminalise women for undergoing abortions, people who assist them, including doctors and family members, can face prosecution. Activists say many women therefore obtain abortion pills from abroad and terminate pregnancies outside hospitals.
Official figures show Polish hospitals performed 573 abortions in the first half of 2026, compared with 452 during the whole of 2022. Activists maintain that tens of thousands of abortions take place outside hospitals annually.
The Abortion Dream Team has also established an information centre near Parliament in Warsaw and introduced a locker system through which women can obtain abortion pills more quickly and discreetly. Campaigners say the protests are intended to press the government to turn its promises into practical access to reproductive healthcare.