Minister stoking civil war, Polish women say
Deputy PM under fire after calling for churches to be defended during protests against abortion ruling
‘I hate it how the government is dragging religion and its “pro-life” position into my life’
PRO- CHOICE campaigners have accused a Polish leader of stirring “civil war” after he urged members of the public to protect churches from being targeted during protests over a controversial abortion ruling.
They spoke out yesterday as they observed a general strike and took part in a sixth day of demonstrations, some of which have involved disrupting masses in Catholic churches.
On Tuesday ni ght , Jarosław Kaczyński, the leader of the Law and Justice Party who is also a deputy prime minister, urged supporters to defend the churches from attack. But with some churches already attracting farRight vigilantes who have skirmished with protesters, critics accused him of stoking tensions even further.
Karolina Kwiaton, a protester and 34-year-old mother of two, said it was a “disgusting call for civil war”.
She was one of a number of campaigners who gathered outside Mr Kaczyński’s house in Warsaw to protest against a supreme court ruling that could result in a near-total ban on abortion. Opponents of the decision claim the Law and Justice party is wielding i nfluence over the court to push through an anti-abortion agenda without having to use parliament.
“There are so many aspects of this I hate,” said Ms Kwiaton. “I hate it how they [the government] are dragging religion and its ‘pro-life’ position into my life. Through its previous actions the government now has the power to do anything, but it’s not their lives their actions affect.”
In his speech on Tuesday, Mr Kaczyński claimed that the alleged attacks on churches were “intended to destroy Poland”.
Just how many people took part in yesterday’s general strike was unclear, as the Covid-19 outbreak has meant many are already working from home.
However, the prospect of churches becoming a magnet for protests has alarmed the Catholic Church. Wojciech Polak, the Polish primate, said that although the Church opposed abortion, “we cannot forget the commandment to love thy neighbour”. Opinion polls have long shown that most Poles favour maintaining the already stringent 1993 abortion law. Last week’s court ruling found that a clause permitting terminations when there is severe damage to the foetus was unconstitutional.
When the ruling takes effect, abortion will be permitted only if a pregnancy threatens the woman’s health or is the result of a crime such as rape. In a poll in the Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper, 74 per cent of respondents opposed the ruling, with 12 per cent in favour.