#WORLDWIDE #FRANCE #News #Journal #update , UCL AL #313 - Antipatriarchy, 52. Poland: Catholic Church: out of our wombs !

 

Today's Topics:

   1.  France, UCL AL #313 - Antipatriarchy, 52. Poland: Catholic
        Church: out of our wombs ! (ca, de, it, fr, pt)[machine
        translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)


----------------------------------------------------------------------


As in 2016, Polish women had to fight in 2018 and then in 2020 to keep the weak
right to abortion left to them by reactionary governments close to the Catholic
Church. ---- The fundamental right of women to abortion existed in Poland. >From
1955 to 1993, under the communist regime, it was free and open. From 1989 to
1993, the fundamentalist Catholic parties and the Church tried on several
occasions to have it banned. And almost succeeded. In January 1993, as the Church
threatened to stop supporting the ultraliberal reforms underway, Parliament voted
to ban abortion. After some attempts at improvements defeated by the Catholic
right, women have definitely suffered since 1996 from one of the most restrictive
laws in Europe. Abortion is only authorized in the case of a malformation of the
fetus, a threat to the life or the health of the woman or if a rape, including
rape by incest, is at the origin of the pregnancy. A few hundred legal abortions
take place each year, mainly due to malformation of the fetus. Since women are
not prosecuted in the event of abortion, those who need it will abort en masse in
neighboring countries with more favorable legislation.

A responsive government in the pay of the Bishops
At the beginning of 2018, a bill liberalizing the right to abortion was rejected
while a project also banning it in the event of malformation was presented. The
latter will not be voted in the end, the deputies feeling that public opinion
would not follow them and fearing for their posts. But in June 2017, deputies
from different parties appealed to the constitutional court to find out whether
the exception for malformation is constitutional. In October 2020, the court
ruled: abortion should be banned even if there is a fetal malformation.

Ja tu rzadze-It's me who's in charge. Demonstration in Poland. 2020.
The demonstrations of women are enormous, the demonstrations of young people of
both sexes too, churches are invaded, clashes with the extreme right occur,
international support is important, Europe condemns, employers release their
staff so that they are going to demonstrate. The government in fall in the polls
is doing for the moment by not publishing the judgment, by suspending the
decision, but it cannot oppose it. The threat remains great.

The women won nothing, they kept a very unfavorable status quo. But the strength
of the demonstrations gives hope for the resumption of the struggle soon. As in
South America, the Catholic Church carries enormous weight in Poland. As
everywhere in the world, ally of patriarchal and reactionary governments, the
Church remains very concerned about the control of the sexuality of women. But
the Argentines defeated it in December, their formidable fighting spirit has
opened a door and women from other countries can rush into it.

The choice of whether or not to carry a pregnancy to term does not belong to the
progenitor, nor to the Churches, nor to men in general or to governments in
particular, it is the choice of the only pregnant woman. Free, free,
unconditional abortion everywhere and for all.

Christine (UCL Sarthe)

Read also: "   Poland: abortion a right to be reclaimed   " , Libertarian
Alternative , November 2016
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Pologne-L-avortement-un-droit-a-reconquerir

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?52-Pologne-Eglise-catholique-hors-de-nos-uterus

------------------------------