Women took to the streets in cities across Poland on Thursday evening to demand changes to the country's abortion law, with rallies reported in 28 cities, according to Wyborcza.pl. The first gatherings began around 5 pm in places including Kraków and Szczecin. Participants called for the full decriminalisation of abortion and for the procedure to be available through the state health fund, the outlet reported.
The demonstrations were held under the slogan "red card for abortion," Wyborcza.pl reported. At the parliament building in Warsaw, crowds shouted "shame," according to Kobieta Onet. In Katowice, participants carried the message that "a mother is also a person, a woman is also a person," Katowice.Wyborcza.pl reported.
Why it matters
The protests show that the abortion debate in Poland remains unresolved for many women despite recent legislative activity. According to Wyborcza.pl, the bills passed by lawmakers on Tuesday did not satisfy demonstrators, who described them as a rushed, last-minute fix that pleases no one. RMF24 reported that participants voiced the view that none of the promises made to women had been kept.
The scale of the mobilisation — rallies in 28 cities, per Kobieta Onet — indicates the issue still draws significant public engagement, and the timing suggests the parliamentary votes have not closed the argument but reopened it on the streets.
Voices from the Warsaw rally
Wyborcza.pl reported that the Warsaw protest ended around 7:20 pm. Before that, participants took to the stage from about 7 pm to explain why they had joined. One woman, who gave her name as Emilia, said she came from a right-wing family but does not share its politics. A man named Konrad said he was there to stand with his female friends, describing everyone present as sisters.
Another participant said she had an abortion two days before Christmas Eve. She described feeling relief but also stress, and said she had worried that her husband and relatives could face accusations of helping her obtain the procedure. She argued that the Polish government forces women to carry pregnancies to term because they cannot afford an abortion.
A woman who said she had first joined protests in 2020 told Wyborcza.pl that little had changed since then. She said the fight was not really about a legal clause but about the right to decide, and that she wanted respect in the country where she lives. Another participant said she would like to have children one day but does not feel safe enough to do so, adding that even medical information could be withheld from her.
Police lines and a dissolved assembly in Wrocław
In Wrocław, Wyborcza.pl reported that more than a hundred people stood on a pavement chanting, separated from the road by a police cordon. For a while it was unclear what the group intended to do, until someone shouted through a megaphone that they were heading to Solny Square. The crowd moved in that direction accompanied by police sirens, the outlet reported, noting that the assembly had already been officially dissolved.
Political backdrop
The protests follow parliamentary votes on Tuesday, which demonstrators referenced in their remarks. According to Wyborcza.pl, participants argued that religious belief and respect for the Church can coexist with building law on compromise, particularly by listening to the women the law affects.
Gazeta reported that it sought answers from female MPs in the governing coalition on whether they would attend the abortion protest.
What to watch: whether the parliamentary votes translate into further legislative work on abortion, and whether the street mobilisation continues in the coming weeks.
