In late September, the Polish parliament voted against rejecting a controversial bill to completely outlaw abortions in the country, with the draft proposal now set to be discussed by the parliamentary Commission of Justice and Human Rights.
The protest kicked off at the parliament building in Warsaw on Saturday afternoon. Demonstrators carried banners, saying "a lack of legal abortions kills," "we need doctors, not police" while chanting "we want to love, not to die" and "the government is not a pregnancy, we can get rid of it."
A number of opposition parties, including the liberal Civic Platform and the left-wing Razem party, supported the protest. Organizers called on women to continue rallying on Monday in what could become a nationwide women's strike.
The anti-abortion bill made it to parliament after a citizens' initiative, launched by the Stop Abortion group, gathered some 450,000 signatures. The petition called on Polish lawmakers to tighten the country's already strict anti-abortion laws, outlawing terminated pregnancies even in cases of rape or incest.
The European Union has expressed concern about reforms introduced by Poland's ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, which, aside from the proposed anti-abortion bill, include limiting the judicial freedom of the Constitutional Tribunal and extending control over state media.
On Thursday, the European Parliament said it would hold a debate on the issue of women's rights in Poland on October 5.
