Almost complete ban on abortion in Poland, protests in many cities

The Constitutional Court (TK) published the rationale of the judgment of October 22, 2020, on the abortion law. Dissenting opinions to justify the judgment of the TK were submitted by three judges. The Government Information Center announced that "in accordance with constitutional requirements, the judgment will be published today in the Journal of Laws".

The opposition and many constitutionalists claim that the composition of the TK, headed by Julia Przyłębska, was incorrectly filled – it was full of the so-called doubles judges.

The TKs ruling sparked a wave of protests across the country. Demonstrations have started on October 22. The last protest of the Women's Strike took place on Wednesday, January 20 in Warsaw, in the vicinity of the de Gaulle roundabout, Trzech Krzyży square, the Sejm, and the Dmowski roundabout. A dozen or so people were detained, as reported by the Warsaw police.

"We will have a situation of increasing legal chaos because this verdict is inconsistent with the constitution," constitutionalist Dr. Bogna Baczyńska from the University of Szczecin said on TVN24. 

She was echoed by Doctor Mikołaj Małecki from the Department of Criminal Law of the Jagiellonian University.

"This is an unprecedented, scandalous policy-making on such a significant problem as the problem of abortion," he assessed.

(TVN24)