In response to certain Polish lawmakers’ recent attempts to expand the country’s law to allow for more abortions, tens of thousands of pro-life protesters reportedly marched in downtown Warsaw on Sunday.
According to AP News, a Polish pro-life federation stated, “In the face of the promotion of abortion in recent months, the march will be a rare occasion to show our support for the protections of human life from conception to natural death.” The Catholic Church of Poland also declared April 14th as a day of prayer for the purpose of defending “conceived life.”
Anti-#abortion march starting soon in Warsaw, Poland, with crowd singing the national anthem. pic.twitter.com/6yBSmEOO8F
— Sovereignty (@Sovereignty_PL) April 14, 2024
The National Catholic Register (NCR) noted that organizers estimated the pro-life crowd to be approximately 50,000 strong. The outlet reported, “At the march, signs could be read with messages such as ‘To kill or not to kill, that is the choice,’ ‘I choose life,’ ‘Together for life,’ and ‘Love them both.'”
NCR stated that at the march, “the heartbeat of an unborn child was played over the loudspeakers” and the entire event was broadcast by multiple radio stations across the country.
Kicking off the recent controversy in the country was the European Union’s vote that now strongly urges four goals for all of its members: supporting the so-called “right” to abortion, decriminalizing abortion, halting all funding to “anti-choice” groups, and pushing sexual and relationship education access in all areas.
In response to this urging, Poland’s lower government (the Sejm) voted in favor of advancing four bills to liberalize abortion.
The first, Bill 176, would decriminalize carrying out an abortion 12 weeks or earlier, allowing it after this point only in cases of “severe, irreversible impairment or incurable fetal disease.” But some research has shown that even before the end of the first trimester, preborn children may have the capacity to feel pain, and The Endowment for Human Development states:
Most significant developmental milestones occur long before birth during the first eight weeks following conception when most body parts and all body systems appear and begin to function.
The main divisions of the body, such as the head, chest, abdomen and pelvis, and arms and legs are established by about four weeks after conception. Eight weeks after conception, except for the small size, the developing human’s overall appearance and many internal structures closely resemble the newborn.
10 weeks from fertilization (12 weeks gestation/LMP)
The second, Bill 223, would reverse a 2020 change that removed the exception to have an abortion based on a fetal diagnosis.
The third bill, Bill 224, concerns rights to abortion within Poland.
The last bill, Bill 177, would decriminalize assisting women in obtaining an abortion. In its own words, it would “guarantee the right to health care in the form of termination of pregnancy by the end of the 12 weeks of its duration, and in certain cases also after the 12th week.”
All of these bills passed in the lower house with a majority ranging from 16 to 67 votes.
Currently, Poland restricts abortion to cases of incest, rape, or health risks to the mother. There is a jail sentence of up to three years for those assisting women in obtaining an abortion that is not in accordance with these requirements.
Amnesty International praised the passage of the bills, saying that “Poland’s parliament has taken a significant step towards ending Poland’s cruel and draconian restrictions on access to abortion, which have had a devastating impact on the lives and health of so many people.” It is expected that pro-life President Andrzej Duda will veto these bills.
But the term “abortion” is a euphemism that masks the true brutality and cruelty of the act itself, which ends the life of a human being each time it is done successfully. What is cruel is to deprive an innocent human being of his or her right to life; this obviously has a “devastating impact” on the lives that are taken.
