Several hundred people gathered at the Polish embassy in Þórunnartún last night to protest against the new abortion law in Poland, Vísir reported. Poland’s new ruling of the constitutional court is outlawing abortion in almost all cases, save a select few: rape, incest, and when the life of the mother is in danger.
The protests took place peacefully, and participants wore masks and held signs. The video below from Twitter shows them marching through the streets of Reykjavík afterwards:
#jebacpis #StrajkKobiet #ToJestWojna w Reykjavík 🇮🇸 pic.twitter.com/rdxxsNFeIV
— Michał Drewienkowski (@MDrewienkowski) October 26, 2020
The Icelandic Prime Minister, Katrín Jakobsdóttir, commented on the development in a Tweet of her own: “Deeply concerned about recent developments in Poland regarding women’s sexual & reproductive health & rights. The gender equality backlash around the world is alarming. We must continue to safeguard gender equality & women’s rights and speak out when we see these rights violated,” she wrote.
Poland’s abortion legislation is one of the strictest in Europe. The BBC estimates that 100,000 Polish women go to other countries each year to undergo abortion.
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