This is the largest protest in Poland
since the fall of communism more than 30 years ago.
Hundreds of thousands are protesting, in cities across the country,
because the party in power here is on the verge of eliminating a woman’s right to an abortion.
At the heart of these protests are young women:
those who are the most threatened by the new ruling.
But there are many, many others too.
And that’s because these protesters aren’t just concerned
about the future of abortion rights in Poland.
They’re worried about the future of the country itself.
In the late 1980s, Poland got rid of its decades-long communist regime.
Soon, it became a thriving democracy, with a strong catholic identity.
It also passed one of the strictest laws on abortion in all of Europe.
Under the law, women were only allowed to have an abortion under three circumstances:
if the pregnancy was a threat to the health of the mother,
if it was the result of incest or rape,
or if the fetus had severe and irreversible abnormalities.
The law has remained this way for nearly 30 years.
And today, it makes Poland an outlier in Europe,
where virtually every other country allows abortions under a broad range of circumstances.
But some in Poland thought those strict laws still weren’t enough.
In 2015, Poland elected the right-wing party Law and Justice into power.
Shortly after, the party leader said:
"Very close to the totalitarian way of thinking,
as far as women's health, women's rights, and women's personhood is concerned."
In 2016, the party backed legislation to eliminate all three legal paths to abortion.
The legislation proposed imprisoning women seeking abortions,
and doctors who performed them, for up to five years.
They would even investigate miscarriages.
"This is something that is incredible, you know?
It really turns us back to the Middle Ages.
The limitation of human rights went far too far."
Thousands of women took to the streets,
pushing back against the law, in what were called the Black Protests.
In the face of this opposition, the legislation was withdrawn.
Poland would still have one of the strictest abortion laws in Europe,
but not a total ban.
But instead of giving up on the abortion ban,
Law & Justice started dismantling the country’s ability to oppose one.
In Poland’s democracy, some legislation passed by Parliament
is sent to the Constitutional Tribunal,
to ensure it’s consistent with the country's constitution.
This court has 15 judges, and it serves as the main check on the ruling party.
It’s supposed to function as an independent branch of the government.
But upon taking power, Law & Justice started to erode that independence.
They refused to swear in several judges
who had been appointed by the previous government,
and replaced them with judges who would be loyal to them,
including the Tribunal president,
who has the ability to determine which judges hear what cases.
And of the judges they have appointed legally, many are actually fellow politicians,
further compromising the independence of the court.
This has created a tribunal in which 14 of 15 judges are aligned with the ruling party.
And the legitimacy of several of them is widely disputed,
both in Poland and internationally.
This version of the court has never decided a case against the ruling party.
"The fact that this Constitutional Tribunal is acting on the behalf of the political party
is just the opposite of what the Constitutional Tribunal should do."
It was under these circumstances that Law & Justice sought a new ruling
from the Constitutional Tribunal on the country’s abortion laws,
that would eliminate one of the three bases for legal abortion:
Severe fetal abnormalities.
And while it might seem like that would only prevent some abortions,
fetal abnormalities are the reason for 98% of abortions in Poland.
In other words, without technically banning abortions,
the change would make them virtually impossible.
Nearly 80% of Poles disagreed with this change.
But on October 22nd, the Constitutional Tribunal ruled in its favor:
That the overwhelming majority of abortions in Poland were unconstitutional.
The ruling brought Poles back into the streets,
and in much bigger numbers than in 2016.
"These protests are really different from what we've seen for the last four years,
because there are thousands and thousands of young people attending these protests,
organizing these protests,
and also, these are the most grassroots, independent protests that we've ever had."
In the face of the protests, the government has delayed taking the steps
that would make the ruling official.
As of this video, it’s unclear when, or if, they will.
But these protests are as much about how this ruling came together,
as they are about the ruling itself.
MARTA LEMPART: "It started with abortion. Now we fight for freedom, for everything."
For the rule of law."
Outside of Poland, the world has noticed.
International organizations have stopped considering it a full democracy.
And the changes to its legal system have put Poland’s European Union membership at risk.
30 years ago, Poland enthusiastically embraced democracy.
Today, its ruling party is trying to rig the country’s democratic institutions in its favor.
And it's the people who are fighting to protect them.
"Despite the fact that this government is responsible for destroying
all the democratic tools that we have in our Constitution,
you still have the nation, the citizens in this country,
who carry on the democratic values."