Polish deputies Katarzyna Kotula, Wanda Nowicka and Joanna Scheuring-Wielgus (above photo) published a manifesto for 8 March. For Italy, it was signed by dem Boldrini and Quartapelle, Chiara Gribaudo, Simona Suriano, Maria Edera Spadoni and the senators Valeria Fedeli, Laura Garavini and Valeria Valente, and it seems other European parliamentarians as well. The full text of the manifesto can be found here: La Repubblica, 6 March 2021
After much pressure to take a stance on this issue, Poland’s main opposition party, Civic Platform, also issued a new position on abortion. It favours not just returning to the previous status quo, but liberalising access to abortion. Source: Notes from Poland Posted in: CEE Bulletin on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, No.2 (199) 2021
PHOTO: Polska Agencja Prasowa, 22 October 2020
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Over 80% of Polish women aged under 40 oppose new abortion restrictions, finds new poll
Among women in Poland aged 18 to 40, only 2% say they support the recent near-total ban on abortion, while 7% want a complete ban, according to a new poll. By contrast, the largest proportion (44%) want abortion to be available on demand.
In a new poll – Kantar poll for Polityka – the first to specifically question the women most directly affected by the abortion law – 44% expressed the view that abortion should be available on demand up to the 12th week of pregnancy. A further 38% said that they support the status quo prior to the recent change, when pregnancies could be terminated in three cases: if they threatened the woman’s life or health, if they resulted from rape or incest, or if the fetus suffered from severe anomalies. Only 2% said that they support the current situation, introduced by a Constitutional Tribunal ruling that effectively banned almost all legal terminations. Only 7% wanted a complete ban on abortion; 9% did not express a view.
The youngest respondents (aged 18 to 24) were the most strongly in favour liberalisation, with 57% supporting abortion on demand and 29% favouring a return to the previous status quo. Likewise, 60% of women in urban areas want abortion to be available on demand while 35% support a return to the status quo. In more rural areas, which are generally more conservative, the figures are 37% and 39% respectively.
Further, only 7% of the women surveyed said they believed that the Constitutional Tribunal’s ruling was a decision it made independently. Exactly a quarter said it was due to pressure from the Catholic church, while 29% saw it as a result of an internal power struggle in the ruling camp. 45% said that the abortion issue would influence their decisions in future elections.
Even so, the ruling party leader, Kaczynski, was quoted as saying that the abortion protests “aimed to destroy Poland and end the history of the Polish nation”.
SOURCE: Notes from Poland Posted in: CEE Bulletin on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, No.2 (199) 2021