WARSAW - Tens of thousands of women took to the streets in dozens of Polish cities and towns for a nationwide strike on Wednesday to protest a top court's decision to ban nearly all abortions, even as the nation's leading politician urged his conservative supporters to"defend Poland".
One group of women donned long red dresses and white bonnets meant to evoke the subjugated women in The Handmaid's Tale novel and television series and marched into a cathedral and down the aisle between worshippers. The court's decision on abortion, he said,"would not be possible without the previous assault on the rule of law".
In Warsaw, a large crowd - most of them wearing masks as a precaution against the coronavirus - marched to Parliament, blocking traffic, and chanting"Come with us!" to the people watching from windows and balconies along the route. The court's decision halted pregnancy terminations for fetal abnormalities, virtually the only type of abortion currently performed in the country.
Mr Kaczynski's call to oppose the demonstrations came as the nation faces the largest outbreak of the coronavirus since the pandemic began in the spring. As protests have persisted, the threat of violence has started to loom ever larger, with right-wing extremists rushing to join the fray. And Mr Kaczynski's exhortations to his supporters may encourage them further.
In Poznan, where protesters staged a sit-in at a cathedral, one protester was badly beaten by nationalists who confronted the group, according to the local news website TenPoznan.Some observers said it looked as if the car was driven into the crowd deliberately. One of the women was treated for injuries in the hospital and later released, according to the police.
Odd that ST never mention the millions who march against abortion every year. In Washington DC a million women march for PRO LIFE
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