Originally published 2021-01-30.
On 27 January 2021 one of the strictest abortion regimes in Europe became stricter still. That evening Poland's government published a Constitutional Tribunal ruling from the previous October that removed the right to end a pregnancy because of severe foetal abnormalities. Within hours thousands of people were back on the streets of Warsaw and other cities, defying pandemic restrictions for several nights of protest.
The change was dramatic in practice. Before the ruling, foetal defects were the legal basis for almost every abortion carried out in Polish hospitals. After it, only two grounds remained. This article explains what changed, why people protested, and how the issue has developed since.
What changed on 27 January 2021
Poland's abortion law dates from 1993. It allowed termination in three situations: when the pregnancy threatened the woman's life or health, when it resulted from a crime such as rape or incest, and when tests showed a severe and irreversible defect in the foetus or an incurable life-threatening illness.
On 22 October 2020 the Constitutional Tribunal ruled that the third ground breached the constitution's protection of life. The government delayed publishing the judgment for three months amid huge protests, then printed it in the official journal on 27 January 2021, at which point it took legal effect.
From then on, abortion was legal only if the pregnancy endangered the woman's life or health, or if it resulted from a criminal act, which a prosecutor must certify. Women carrying a foetus with a fatal condition, or one diagnosed with a serious disability such as Down syndrome, could no longer end the pregnancy legally in Poland. The law does not punish women for their own abortions, but doctors and anyone who helps can face prison.
It is worth noting that the change came from a court, not a new vote in parliament. Critics argued that the tribunal had become closely aligned with the governing Law and Justice (PiS) party after a series of contested appointments, and that the ruling achieved what earlier bills had failed to pass.
How few legal abortions Poland already had
Even before the ruling, legal abortion in Poland was rare. Official figures for 2019 recorded 1,110 terminations in hospitals, and 1,074 of them were performed because of foetal defects. The ruling therefore removed the ground behind roughly 97 per cent of legal procedures.
Official numbers have never told the whole story. Many Polish women travel to Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and other countries, or order abortion pills online. Estimates of these unofficial abortions vary enormously: feminist groups have suggested 80,000 to 200,000 a year, while figures cited by the BBC ranged from 10,000 to 150,000. The true number is unknown, which is why careful reporting gives a range rather than a single figure.
Who protested, and how
The demonstrations were led largely by the Women's Strike (Ogólnopolski Strajk Kobiet), a grassroots movement that had first mobilised against a proposed near-total ban in 2016. Its red lightning-bolt symbol appeared on placards, windows and face masks across the country. On 30 October 2020, a week after the ruling, around 100,000 people marched in Warsaw, one of the largest protests in Poland since the fall of communism.
In January 2021 many marchers also wore green scarves, borrowed from campaigners in Argentina. Their "green wave" had just won a historic victory when Argentina's Congress legalised abortion up to the 14th week of pregnancy at the end of December 2020.
Video from the protests shows the scale of the crowds that gathered despite the risk of fines. The demonstrations were overwhelmingly peaceful, with relatively few arrests reported, although police used pepper spray on some occasions during the wider wave of protests.
The government's response
Ministers described the gatherings as illegal under Covid-19 rules, which at the time limited public assemblies. Senior PiS politician Krzysztof Sobolewski told Reuters that organisers "should realise they are risking the lives of the participants and those close to them."
PiS, a national-conservative party in power since 2015, framed the ruling as a defence of unborn life and a matter for the courts. The Catholic Church, still influential in Polish public life, welcomed it. Opinion polls, however, suggested that a majority of Poles opposed the tightening, and support for PiS dropped during the autumn 2020 protests.
Criticism from human rights groups
Human rights and medical organisations condemned the change. Amnesty International called it a dark day, saying: "Today is a terrible day for women and girls in Poland." It argued that bans do not reduce the number of abortions but push them underground or abroad, putting health at risk. Similar criticism came from the Council of Europe's human rights commissioner and from members of the European Parliament.
The concern most often raised was practical: doctors might hesitate to act even when the law still allowed it, for fear of prosecution. That fear became the centre of the debate in the years that followed.
What has happened since
In September 2021 a 30-year-old pregnant woman named Izabela died of septic shock in a hospital in Pszczyna after doctors waited for the foetal heartbeat to stop. Her family and campaigners blamed the climate created by the ruling, and her death sparked a new round of protests under the slogan "Not one more". Other women's deaths in similar circumstances were later reported.
Abortion became a major issue in the October 2023 general election, which brought a coalition led by Donald Tusk to power. Liberalising the law has proved difficult, though. In July 2024 the Sejm narrowly rejected a bill to decriminalise helping with an abortion, by 218 votes to 215. In August 2024 the government issued guidance telling hospitals to read the health exception more broadly, including mental health, but the 2021 ruling itself remains in force, and President Karol Nawrocki, elected in 2025, opposes loosening the law.
For now, Poland's legal situation is still the one that took effect in January 2021: abortion is permitted only after a crime or when the pregnancy threatens the woman's life or health.
Sources: Wikipedia: Abortion in Poland; Notes from Poland, 22 October 2020: Constitutional court ruling ends almost all legal abortion in Poland; Reuters, January 2021; Amnesty International, January 2021: Poland: Roll-back of reproductive rights is a dark day for Polish women.
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