The 17th Warsaw Manifa (biggest feminist demonstration in Poland) will march through Warsaw on Sunday, March 6th with reproductive justice as main subject. Federation for Women and Family Planing is taking part in preparations as member of the 8th March Women’s Coalition, an informal collective of individuals (PK8M).
This year’s theme is “Abortion is pro-lifeâ€
The slogan of the 17th Warsaw Manifa demonstration brings rationality back into the debate about the right to termination of pregnancy in Poland. It turns public attention to who in fact is defending life and who is doing harm to others. It might seem absurd to some, but its explanation is very simple: the right to abortion saves lives indeed – the lives of women and children. No access to legal abortion forces women to turn to dangerous and expensive illegal abortion either in the underground in Poland or abroad. Women are in fact forced to terminate pregnancies without medical assistance, risking their lives and exposing their children to the risk of orphanhood.
Poland’s abortion law is one of the most restrictive in Europe and even more restrictive in practice than on paper. Although the law allows termination of pregnancy under three conditions: in case of rape/incest, in case of a threat to the woman’s health and in cases of fetal malformation. However, legal abortion is practically not accessible even for women whose conditions fall under these exceptions. Every year 5 million women worldwide are hospitalized due to complications resulting from illegal abortions. Around 220,000 children per year lose their mothers for the same reason.
Manifa demands access to abortion, contraception, sexuality education and respectful care during childbirth and miscarriage, and calls for genuine support for people with children. This is the way to really defend life – by granting people these rights.
The right to make informed decisions about one’s fertility is a human right!
The organisers are expecting anti-choice demonstrations to take place at the time of this march. To show solidarity with us you are invited to take a photo with our slogan “Abortion is pro-life” or “Abortion saves lives” and post it on your Facebook or Twitter account along with hashtag #manifa2016
www.manifa.org
