Czarny protest
The Czarny Protest (German: "Black Protest") was a protest movement in Poland in which women campaigned against tightening the abortion laws in 2016 . They organize large-scale demonstrations with tens of thousands of participants. Many wore black clothes to match the motto. The controversial law project was supposed to prohibit abortion in Poland and make it a prison term. Doctors should not be allowed to terminate the pregnancy even if it followed rape or if the health of the expectant mother was at risk.
background
On September 23, 2016, the Sejm approved in a first reading a draft law formulated by the people's initiative “Stop Aborcji” , which made all abortions a criminal offense. The draft provided for up to five years in prison for pregnant women who have had an abortion. The only exception should be a termination of pregnancy if it can be proven that the mother-to-be would be in mortal danger if she carried the child to term. The project was initially supported by the ruling party Law and Justice (PiS) at the time . The abortion law in Poland is stricter than in any other European country: an abortion is only legal if the health or life of the woman is at risk, if the pregnancy is the result of a crime or if the fetus has been diagnosed with severe disability . Polish women's rights organizations estimate that around 200,000 illegal abortions per year were often very dangerous for the women concerned.
Protests
Demonstrations
On the weekend and on the Monday after the Sejm meeting, tens of thousands of people demonstrated against the law in Poland, but also in other European countries. At least 22,000 people, most of whom wore black clothing, gathered in Warsaw for a demonstration. Large demonstrations also took place in Wroclaw , Cracow , Poznan , Łódź , Słubice and Stettin . In solidarity with the Polish women there were rallies and demonstrations in Berlin , Paris and Brussels , in Berlin 700 people took part. The Group of Social Democrats in the EU Parliament gathered in Strasbourg to support the protests. Politicians Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk and Barbara Nowacka were among the organizers of the protests .
Online activities
The protest also formed in social networks on the Internet: Thousands of tweets (publicly visible statements on Twitter) and Facebook postings against the law were distributed under the hashtags #CzarnyProtest and #BlackMonday (“Black Monday”) . 200,000 citizens signed an online petition initiated by the Polish committee “Save Women” (Polish: “Ratujmy Kobiety”). It called for abortions to be legalized up to the twelfth week and for sex education , access to contraceptives and emergency contraception (colloquially: morning- after pill) to be improved. In addition, it was demanded that the possibilities for doctors to invoke a so-called “conscience clause”, which allows them, for example, to refuse prescriptions for contraceptives, should be restricted. The rights of pregnant minors should be strengthened to give them freedom of choice in the event of an unwanted pregnancy.
Decision in parliament
On October 6, 2016, the Sejm rejected a tightening of the abortion law by a large majority. 352 MPs voted in the second reading against the almost total ban on abortion, 58 in favor. 18 parliamentarians abstained. In the vote, many PiS MPs also opposed the change in the law. The party held an absolute majority in parliament at the time. Education and Science Minister Jarosław Gowin had previously said that the government would reconsider its position. The protests of tens of thousands led to this. The newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza reported, citing party circles, that the PiS party did not want to risk being voted out in the 2019 elections in view of the mass protests .
Web links
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ #czarnyprotest. Poles protest against the ban on abortion , Deutschlandfunk on October 5, 2016, accessed on March 7, 2017
- ^ Abortion Act in Poland: Worse is always possible , Die Tageszeitung on September 29, 2016, accessed on March 9, 2017
- ↑ Berlin and Słubice take part in “Black Monday” ( memento of the original from March 12, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , rbb-online on October 3, 2016, accessed on March 9, 2017
- ↑ Tens of thousands demonstrate against the abortion law , Die Zeit on October 3, 2016, accessed on March 9, 2017
- ↑ Prohibition of abortion: The resistance of Polish women is growing , Die Zeit on September 28, 2016, accessed on March 9, 2017
- ↑ Polish Parliament rejects the ban on abortion , Die Zeit on October 6, 2017, accessed on March 9, 2017
