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Poland is a very Catholic country and the Roman Catholic Church is very much against abortion. The government is also very anti-labor union.
The Committee for a Workers' International (socialistworld.net) reports
[Poland already] has one of the most restrictive anti-abortion laws in Europe, allowing abortion only in the case of rape, a threat to the health or life of the woman, or deformation of the foetus. In practice, even when these conditions are fulfilled abortion is often prevented by doctors who exploit the so-called "conscience clause" and impose their own religious beliefs on patients by refusing vital treatment.
This law was forced through at the beginning of the 1990s [...] (over 70% of the population was against an abortion ban and supported [...] abortion on demand).
[...] [Recent] plans to impose a total ban on abortion have sparked a massive uncontrolled explosion of anger in Poland. On Monday 3 October a strike of Polish women was called, inspired by the example of Icelandic women, who held a nationwide strike in 1975. [...] Even the police's conservative estimates talk about 98,000 people demonstrating in over 143 separate protests across the country. These are easily the biggest ever protests in defence of abortion rights in Poland, far exceeding the protests in 1993, when the current ban on abortion was introduced.
[This week's strike]
[Continues...]
[...] [In response to the proposed ban, and] inspired by the 1976 strike of women in Iceland, the idea was raised of organising a strike of women. This was not called by any of the trade unions, instead the idea came from within the movement by women who had no previous trade union or strike experience. However, due to the anti-trade union laws and the difficulty of organising a legal strike even by a trade union, women were not encouraged to actually strike, but rather to take a day off work on what was nicknamed Czarny poniedzialek (Back Monday).
Unfortunately many women were prevented from taking part in this strike because they [have lousy employment] contracts and have no right to a day off on demand. For example, Lidl supermarket chain threatened to sack staff who took a day off on Monday.
Finally, on the day of the strike, OPZZ, one of the three major trade union federations, expressed its support and pledged to defend its members from victimisation, should they decide to participate in the protest. Thanks to this, many public administration workers, particularly in local government, were able to strike. A number of theatres and small businesses announced they would close that day to allow their staff to participate. Many more women who had no option but to work dressed in black to express their support for the strike.
[...] Around 10,000 gathered outside parliament in the rain. There were no speakers, but the mood was loud and angry. There were rumours that several thousand protesters marched to Teatr Polski, the theatre where Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of the ruling party Law and Justice, was having a meeting.
[...] Law and Justice has been taken completely off guard by the movement. It did not plan to introduce a change in the abortion law, at least not this year, but was forced into taking a position by more right-wing elements and the church, who organised their own "citizen's [initiative]".
Due to the scale of the movement, Law and Justice has reacted by announcing that it will prepare its own compromise draft law, which will probably allow abortion in the case of rape and a threat to the life of the woman, but not in the case of a deformity of the foetus. This, of course, is not a compromise at all, but represents a further tightening of the ban and is completely unacceptable. However, it shows that the government is beginning to feel the pressure.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 07 2016, @06:40AM
Not making a decision because You are not aware of it is not an act. However, coming to a decision not to act is an act in itself. Say, I see a drunk guy choking on his own vomit, and truly believe that it is gods will. Or intervening on the sabbath would be blasphemous, or something like that. And again, I'm not just passing him by -- I passionately say "I won't help You, because it is against my religion" (to him, or to another person begging me for help). Do I impose my religion on him? Would it also be imposing if I refuse to do a transplant or a transfusion, because I'm a mormon? Or give an epidural to a woman in labour, because it is written in the Bible that women will give birth in pain?
So You say that You support a doctor who chooses not to do harm to a human being at any stage in the life cycle. Okay, how about a raped teenager, whose life was harmed already -- and both she and her yet unborn child will be harmed further on by a pregnancy she is not yet ready for? How about mothers, whose life is threatened by the pregnancy? How about a fetus that is certain to die? Same with other women, who have sex before they can fully support a child -- it's not that they don't want a child, but they certainly can't have a child right now. Forcing them to have a child now can harm both them and the child. (before You start typing, I know people shouldn't have sex without being able to raise children. They do, with or without abortion rights -- that's the reality of our existence).
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 07 2016, @06:44AM
Just so we can be clear on this: do you ever refuse panhandlers?
(Score: 2, Insightful) by termigator on Friday October 07 2016, @09:23PM
I have observed that most anti-abortionists fight tooth and nail for the unborn fetus, but once it is out of the womb, fuck it.
I only respect anti-abortionists that actually walk-the-walk and adopt all those unwanted children and work hard to find homes for every unwanted child born. The funny thing is I have yet to meet such persons. I guess they are out there.
The hypocrisy is strong here in Texas, where politicians try their best to stop abortions, but at the same time cut programs that will help unwanted children. I guess Texans like their killing, but prefer to do it when folks become adults. No sport in killing when they are in the womb.