Black Monday, Black Protest

Last year, on 3 October 2016, tens of thousands of women boycotted their jobs and classes and took part in a protest against the efforts by the nation’s conservative leaders to tighten Poland’s already restrictive abortion law. The initial protest was inspired by an all-strike more than 40 years ago by the women in Iceland, when 90% of them refused to go to work, cook, or look after their children for a day in October 1975. In Poland, women marched through the street of biggest cities wearing black as a sign of mourning for their reproductive rights. Pro-choice demonstrations were held in solidarity also in other European cities including Berlin, Brussels, Dusseldorf, Belfast London and Paris.

The protest followed the introduction of a bill in the Polish parliament that forbids abortion in almost all circumstances unless pregnancy threatens the life of the mother. A total ban on abortion in all cases would result in prison sentences of up to five years for women who undergo the procedure, with doctors who assist also liable for prison. That means that also women who would suffer a miscarriage could be under criminal suspicion.

Poland already has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe. Currently, there are three exceptions where abortion is possible: when the woman’s life is in danger, when there’s a risk of a serious and irreversible damage to the foetus and when the pregnancy is a result of a rape or incest.

Black protests organized across Poland resulted in the parliament backtracking and overwhelmingly rejecting the total ban.

However, a year later, on 3 October  2017, the demonstrations came on on the first anniversary of a Black Monday. Even though the government’s plan to ban abortion was stopped, last year’s victory doesn’t mean the battle is over. Polish Prime Minister is accused of taking further steps that are considered to be bad for women such as a new regulation that require women to have a doctor’s prescription to buy morning-after pills. Another problem is the fact that the pro-Catholic government objects in-vitro fertilization.

Poland’s conservative government is popular with many Poles, especially church-goers, people in small town and families who have benefited from new welfare subsidies, but it has sparked multiple protests by liberal Poles who see an erosion of their democratic rights.

The political situation in Poland, with the conservative party Law and Justice controlling the parliament and introducing multiple laws that constitute a danger to the polish democracy, make people more united in the fight for their rights. Black Protests are the perfect example of women standing up for themselves and demanding greater reproductive rights. Otherwise, we will wake up one day and be facing a reality as it was created in The Handmaid’s Tale.