Hundreds protest Poland's abortion ban in ‘unprecedented’ mobilisation of the Polish diaspora in Britain

by Bethany Rielly
POLAND’S abortion ban has sparked an “unprecedented” mobilisation of the Polish diaspora in Britain, with hundreds of protesters descending on central London’s Piccadilly Circus on Sunday night.
About 1,000 people gathered, some wearing “blood-stained” dresses and others waving placards reading: “Forced motherhood is female enslavement,” in protest at the far-right government’s latest attack on women’s reproductive rights.
It was part of a week of action against an October 22 ruling by Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal that abortion is illegal even when the foetus has severe defects.
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