Demonstrators against new restrictions on abortion flooded the streets of Warsaw, in what has been described as one of the largest protests in decades to rock the Polish capital.
Tens of thousands of people marched through Warsaw on Friday night, as part of a week-long series of demonstrations sparked by a court decision that banned nearly all abortions in Poland.
Drone footage published by Ruptly, RT’s video agency, shows a sea of protesters pouring into the city’s roadways. People lit flares, waved lights and held homemade signs as they moved through the capital. The protest was so large that even footage taken from the air doesn’t appear to show the entire demonstration, with columns of people seemingly continuing into the distance.
The massive demonstration was largely peaceful, but there was a noticeable police presence due to concerns that clashes could break out with right-wing counter-protesters.
Poland’s constitutional tribunal ruled earlier this month that abortions in instances where the fetus has a serious birth defect were unconstitutional. The decision makes abortion unlawful in almost all circumstances, as Poland already has some of the most restrictive laws on the procedure in Europe.
Poland’s government has accused the demonstrators of endangering public health by spreading coronavirus. Abortion activists argue that they are fighting for human rights.
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