Thousands of women in Poland are opposing plans for a new law that would effectively ban abortion, Christian Davies reported for the Guardian in October 2016. On September 23, 2016, pro-choice activists called a nationwide strike, or “national absence campaign”, by women in protest against the Polish parliament’s vote to send the anti-abortion legislation to a parliamentary committee for consideration.
Were the new law to be enacted it would criminalize all forms of abortion. Women who sought abortions would be punished with up to five years in prison, and the doctors who helped in the termination of their pregnancies would also be prosecuted and serve time in prison. Under the law even women who had miscarriages would undergo legal scrutiny: They would be investigated, questioned, and tested to ensure that they had had a miscarriage and not an abortion.
Source: Christian Davies, “Women to Go on Strike in Poland in Protest at Planned Abortion Law,” Guardian, October 3, 2016, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/02/women-to-go-on-strike-in-poland-abortion-law.
Student Researcher: Shelby Carter (Indian River State College)
Faculty Evaluator: Elliot D. Cohen (Indian River State College)