{"id":38094,"date":"2020-10-28T21:48:40","date_gmt":"2020-10-28T21:48:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thevoiceoflondon.co.uk\/?p=38094"},"modified":"2020-10-28T21:48:40","modified_gmt":"2020-10-28T21:48:40","slug":"this-is-war-ongoing-anti-abortion-law-protests-in-poland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/this-is-war-ongoing-anti-abortion-law-protests-in-poland\/","title":{"rendered":"#thisiswar &#8211; Ongoing anti-abortion law protests in Poland"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Following the ruling on a stricter abortion ban in Poland on Thursday, the whole country joined women who were deprived of their right to have an abortion in case of serious foetal defects.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Anti-abortion law protests in Katowice 28\/10\/2020\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/cGanB6Q_SFg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Students in Poland are especially involved in the current situation and they shared their views and experiences with the Voice of London. &#8220;I&#8217;m going to the protests and I&#8217;m trying to take part in the current events but I&#8217;m also sharing all the information so it can reach a lot of people,&#8221; says Ja\u015bmina, 21.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It\u2019s mainly young people, around 2-3 thousand in Gliwice every day for 6 days now,&#8221; says Piotr, 21, adding &#8220;the police also helps, they escorted the whole march\u00a0and secured the counter-demonstrations in front of the church. These are definitely the biggest protests in the country\u2019s history in a dozen years.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;People at the protests are very diverse.&#8221; adds Ja\u015bmina &#8220;Both men and women of every age are showing up. Although yesterday, when I was on a protest in my hometown, Jaworzno, there were relatively more young people, like high school students, than let&#8217;s say in Cracow. It all depends on the city and it&#8217;s demographic.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Today, because of the protest, women are not going to work, and students are not attending classes. &#8220;Most of the universities decided to cancel the classes today&#8221; continues Piotr, &#8220;lecturers are showing their support by letting you excuse yourself if you\u2019re attending the protest. Generally, we all think that\u2019s the right thing to do.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_38095\" style=\"width: 760px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-38095\" class=\"wp-image-38095 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2020\/10\/strajk1-1.jpg\" alt=\"Photo by Piotr\" width=\"750\" height=\"562\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2020\/10\/strajk1-1.jpg 750w, https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2020\/10\/strajk1-1-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-38095\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photograph by Piotr S.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;I didn\u2019t turn up for the classes today&#8221; says Karolina, 21 &#8220;and I supported the organisations financially that are helping women,&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Even the president&#8217;s daughter, Kinga Duda, has posted on Twitter for the first time to make a statement by saying: &#8220;[&#8230;] the previously existing solution enabled a choice. A choice, not coercion. A woman could, but didn&#8217;t have to use her right. [&#8230;] I can&#8217;t come to terms with the consequences that come with the verdict made by the Constitutional Tribunal. I think that the MPs, who state the law in Poland, should as fast as possible find a reasonable and consensual solution for the current situation that will end the dispute caused by the verdict.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s extremely harmful and inhumane. The right to decide about your own body is every individual&#8217;s basic right&#8221; Ja\u015bmina comments on the Constitutional Tribunal&#8217;s decision.<\/p>\n<p>A famous Polish journalist and traveller, Martyna Wojciechowska, said in her interview for the\u00a0<em>Wysokie Obcasy<\/em>\u00a0magazine: &#8220;I\u2019m ashamed in front of women, whom I told that it\u2019s possible, that they can do anything, fight for their rights. I\u2019m ashamed in front of the whole world that I live in a country, in which human rights are not respected [..]&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Since the latest election, there\u2019s no democracy in Poland&#8221; says Aleksandra, 21, a law student &#8220;the legislation is in a bad shape, passing bills is not rightful, and the government isn\u2019t hiding it anymore.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_38103\" style=\"width: 838px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-38103\" class=\"wp-image-38103 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2020\/10\/strajk3-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"828\" height=\"622\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2020\/10\/strajk3-1.jpg 828w, https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2020\/10\/strajk3-1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2020\/10\/strajk3-1-768x577.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 828px) 100vw, 828px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-38103\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo by Piotr S.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The statement made by Jaros\u0142aw Kaczy\u0144ski, chairman of the ruling party in Poland, is being compared to the announcement of the martial law in 1981.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We are currently in a state where demonstrations will certainly cost many people their lives. Those who call but also those who take part are bringing a common danger. Meaning, they are committing a crime, a serious crime. The government has not only a right but an obligation to counter such actions.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I also think that they might want to distract us from other things that are happening in Poland.&#8221; says Marta, 21 &#8220;They are signing a bill that would make vaccination compulsory and it may be fatal for people who have additional diseases. Also, when businessmen were protesting, the media ignored it, whereas now it\u2019s all over the news, so they may pin the increasing Covid cases on women, instead of taking responsibility for them.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>From what the Polish students told us, the current government is certainly not popular among young people or anyone who cares about human rights.<\/p>\n<p>The protests are not going to stop today and the red lightning symbol and the hashtag #thisiswar are being used more and more often on social platforms.<\/p>\n<p>This is what the protests looked like on Wednesday in Katowice.<\/p>\n<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-38094 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2020\/10\/ania1-1.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2020\/10\/ania1-1-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-38131\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-38131'>\n\t\t\t\tPhotograph by Anna C.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2020\/10\/ania2-1-scaled.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2020\/10\/ania2-1-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-38132\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-38132'>\n\t\t\t\tPhotograph by Anna C.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2020\/10\/ania3-1.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2020\/10\/ania3-1-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-38133\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-38133'>\n\t\t\t\tPhotograph by Anna C.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2020\/10\/ania5-1.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2020\/10\/ania5-1-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Photographs by Anna C.\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-38134\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-38134'>\n\t\t\t\tPhotograph by Anna C.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl>\n\t\t\t<br style='clear: both' \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p><strong>Words: Karolina Pracht | Subbing: Sara Varga, Sam Tabahriti<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Following the ruling on a stricter abortion ban in Poland on Thursday, the whole country joined women who were deprived of their right to have an abortion in case of serious foetal defects. Students in&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":476,"featured_media":38112,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,93],"tags":[288,4924,5035],"class_list":["post-38094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-activism","category-news","tag-abortion-law","tag-poland","tag-protest"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38094","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/476"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38094"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38094\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}