‘Can I Abort My Government?’ – The Story of Poland’s Recent Constitutional Crisis

Over the past week, hundreds of thousands of Poles have been marching all over the country and abroad in protest against the Constitutional Tribunal’s ruling which imposed a virtually complete ban on abortion. Demonstrators have disrupted the functioning of most major cities by blocking roads and bridges whilst vocalising a variety of anti-government slogans. Prior to Thursday’s ruling, only three types of abortion were permitted in Poland – in case of foetal abnormalities, threat to a woman’s health, and if the baby was a result of incest or rape. In practice, 1074 out of 1100 abortions performed last year resulted from foetal abnormalities. However, upon the Constitutional Tribunal’s ruling, this type of abortion has been held to be unconstitutional. Evidently, not only is this a battle for the health of Polish women, who now have to turn to alternative and potentially dangerous methods of abortion, but also for their dignity, freedom, and honour. Protesters are unequivocally demanding the liberalisation of laws on abortion. They have even found the unlikely support of taxi drivers, farmers, and coal miners, who have joined forces with them to protest their own issues with the government.

However, the Soviet-like propaganda machine of the ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) has been gradually inciting hatred towards the “leftist fascists” who are portrayed to be spreading “anarchy throughout the country”. Unfortunately, a majority of PiS voters draw their perspective on current affairs solely from one source, making them susceptible to manipulation. This is being done through the means of the Polish national television station, which is effectively run by Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the deputy prime minister and leader of the party. In a speech the night before the ruling, he himself urged his followers to “defend Poland, defend patriotism” and “defend Polish churches”. Sadly, such is the current reality of Polish politics, which are largely guided by the whims of the Polish Catholic church. This is a direct result of the fact that the main electorate of the Law and Justice Party is comprised of conservative and highly religious individuals.

This situation is only one of a barrage of events disrupting the constitutional order in Poland. Over the last five years, the ruling party has effectively erased the independence of the judiciary by forcing judges of the Constitutional Tribunal to retire and replacing them with PiS puppets. Having failed to pass legislation on abortion in the past, the PiS lawmakers simply asked the Constitutional Tribunal to review the constitutionality of Poland’s abortion laws. This slippery slope of unconstitutional actions has finally reached its tipping point as Poles have united against the ruling party. What makes these protests even more significant is the use of intentional vulgarity as a means of demonstrating that the evil of PiS has reached such a point that it must be fought with in the same manner. The established taboo against challenging the church has been broken. Protesters are hailing slogans that read: “This is war” or “We have had enough”, an illustrious ode to the attitude of Polish society towards the government. However, with the tight grip that PiS has on Poland, this may be a war that proves extremely difficult to win. Time is yet to tell whether these protests will render successful results.