Catholic bishops in Poland have condemned an unprecedented “national strike” by women against a government-backed bill to ban abortion, but denied supporting moves to jail mothers who procure terminations.
“The human person will never win a fight against God,” Bishop Edward Janiak of Kalisz told Catholics at a Mass in Gorzno. “Protest marches won't help, since ‘Do not kill’ means ‘Do not kill’. Although we all have the trace of God’s presence in us, we still don’t respect the life of others - even the life which begins under a mother's heart.”
The bishop was preaching as thousands of women, dressed in black, staged work stoppages and rallies in Warsaw and other towns on Monday in protest against the proposed tightening of Poland’s abortion law, which is already one of the world’s most restrictive.
Meanwhile, another bishop denied that Polish Church leaders favoured jail sentences for women who had abortions. “We protect the values of life, but we don't want prison for women - this would be a terrible thing,” said the Bishop of Radom, Henryk Tomasik. “We need a great prayer for our homeland - that goodness will emerge, with respect for the life of all, including the infirm and handicapped.”
Poland's existing 1993 law restricts abortions to cases of rape, incest, severe foetal damage or threats to a woman's life, and has cut registered legal terminations, according to Health Ministry data, to around 1,000 nationwide per year. Although a complete ban was rejected by parliamentarians in September 2015, a new measure, tabled by Poland’s Right to Life Foundation, would outlaw all abortions with penalties of up to five years’ jail, although sentences could be “exceptionally commuted”. Doctors found to have assisted in an abortion would also be liable for prosecution and a prison term.
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