The Polish abortion law has been on the list several times to be tightened, mainly due to pressure from the church organizations. But every time after massive demonstrations it fell through. Surveys show that only 10 to 15 percent agree with the tightening. About half of Poles want the law to remain unchanged, 30 to 40 percent want the law to be more liberal.
According to Graff, it shows the huge gap between politics, the Catholic Church and reality. “Poles think about sexuality the same as people in many European countries. The age at which they sleep with someone is not higher, the mores are the same. “
According to Graff, some 200,000 abortions are performed ‘under the radar’ every year, in private clinics, abroad or with drugs. “It was taboo for a long time, so people might pretend to agree with the church, but the practice is different.”
‘Government Forbids Sparing Us Suffering’
That’s what 28-year-old Patrycja Foksinska also says. Tonight she is part of the local protest in her town Bielsko-Biala, in the south of Poland. She calls it “incomprehensible” that the Polish government and the church are against the “advancement of medicine”. “My grandmother gave birth to eight children, three of whom died before their first birthday. Today you can determine before birth if the baby will be healthy, but our government forbids us to spare that suffering.”
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