Polish laws on abortion are the strictest in Europe. The government refuses the right to safe abortion to people with wombs, allowing for abortion tourism and self-induced miscarriage. This wasn’t enough for religious fundamentalists in the Polish parliament.
The Polish government’s war with both Brussels and a significant part of the Polish population over the rule of law is against Poland’s national interests. On October 26, the European Parliament adopted a resolution criticizing the Polish Constitutional Tribunal’s decision to ban over 95% of legal abortions in Poland.
The crisis of the rule of law in Poland endangers the proper functioning of the international organizations Poland belongs to. That risk depends directly on the level and scope of integration and the importance of mutual commitments.
On October 22, Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal ruled that abortions for fetal abnormalities violate the Constitution, effectively imposing a near-total ban on abortion. Tribunal’s president Julia Przyłębska said that allowing abortions in cases of fetal abnormality legalized “eugenic practices“.
The 2020 elections have been crucial in a number of coutries – from a forthcoming one in the United States, to most recent ones in Lithuania. The same is true also for Georgia. On November 3, the Georgian citizens need to decide and to opt for either Russia or the West.
Demonstrations were held not only in Kraków, Katowice, Wrocław, Szczecin, and Gdańsk, but also in smaller cities. On Friday evening, crowds marched again to the house of Kaczyński, then to the house of Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. According to estimates, no less than 15,000 people took part in this “walk”.
The current governing Farmers and Greens Union immediately pointed out that in the second round, which will take place on October 25, the voters could still turn the result in their favor.
Refugee policy has gained momentum. In the run-up to the EU summit, the EU Commission wants to accommodate the representatives of the Central European countries of the Visegrad Group (V4): “Flexible solidarity” is the motto.
A new report by the Civil Development Forum (FOR) summarizes the state of the rule of law in Poland after five years of the Law and Justice (PiS) party’s rule and analyzes the current situation from a comparative perspective of the EU countries.
As news about cancellation of world Pride events started coming, Prague Pride team decided to hold the event as originally scheduled in August, and despite obstacles provide Czech LGBT+ people with a chance to enjoy a week of solidarity.
