Poles protested an abortion law — and it worked

Hundreds of thousands of Polish women and men took to the streets this week to tell the country's conservative ruling Law and Justice party that they were against a proposed law that would have imposed a total ban on abortion — and the government listened.

Polish lawmakers abandoned the bill Thursday after coming under social pressure from throngs of black-clad opponents of the law who held massive protests up and down Poland on Monday. Legislators voted 352-58 against it in parliament. The proposed law would have outlawed abortion even in cases of rape.

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Poland already has some of the most restrictive reproductive laws in Europe, with exceptions made only for rape, incest, badly damaged fetuses or if the mother's life is at risk. Thousands of women took a day off from work to take part in the so-called Black Monday protests, and to express their solidarity and fight for abortion rights.

The failed law, supported by many in Poland's Catholic community, was proposed an anti-abortion group that gathered a petition with 450,000 signatures. It was initially supported by many members of the Law and Justice party, which has also faced criticism for its constitutional reforms and reluctance to take in migrants.