The Polish protest leader says demonstrations against tough abortion law continue despite PM’s appeal

WARSAW, Poland (AP) – Poland’s prime minister on Monday called for talks with leaders of massive protests sparked by last month’s tightening of the country’s tough abortion law, which are continuing despite a resurgence of COVID-19.

Just hours before the latest round of nationwide demonstrations began on Monday, the head of the right-wing government, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, made a video appeal to protesters and opposition leaders.

“I would ask you to sit down for talks. May our disputes not be fought out on the street and not be the cause of further infections,” said Morawiecki.

The appeal didn’t stop protesters from blocking roads and roundabouts in Warsaw, Poland’s capital, and other cities like Kraków and Bialystok with signs demanding abortion rights for the 12th straight day.

Earlier Monday, a leader of the protests, the court ruling under appeal, said the public anger unleashed must be reversed.

Klementyna Sukhanov, chair of human rights organization Women’s Strike, said protests will continue throughout the week despite a ban on public gatherings of more than five people because of the coronavirus pandemic. Poland reported nearly 15,780 new cases on Monday.

Nationwide protests by hundreds of thousands of people have been taking place daily since October 22, when a constitutional court banned the abortion of fetuses with congenital defects, further curtailing one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the predominantly Roman Catholic nation.

With the publication and entry into force of the court decision, abortion in Poland will only be allowed if pregnancy endangers the mother’s health or is the result of a crime such as rape or incest.

“The judgment of the so-called Constitutional Court must be withdrawn,” said Sukhanov, emphasizing that the legal status of the court itself is being challenged.

Critics question the independence of the tribunal after the ruling right-wing Law and Justice party tried its supporters shortly after taking power in 2015. Some say the move is a violation of the law.

Sukhanov said Poland’s abortion law needed to be liberalized but acknowledged that this might not be possible under the current Conservative government, which has a narrow majority in the lower house of parliament.

Support for the ruling party began to dwindle even before the abortion verdict. Government moves to scrutinize the justice system, a new animal rights law and anti-LGBT rights statements by senior officials have created political divisions and sparked protests.

Some polls show that most people want party leader and deputy prime minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski to resign, particularly after last week he urged his supporters to stand up to protesters and defend churches from attack.

Sukhanov said she doesn’t blame protesters who disrupted masses or sprayed graffiti on churches sometime in the last month, and said leaders of Poland’s influential Catholic Church should hear the critical voice of believers.

Protests have also been planned by healthcare workers, who say their sector is disorganized and has been stretched to the limit in the fight against the coronavirus.

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