{"id":26623,"date":"2020-11-19T13:23:18","date_gmt":"2020-11-19T13:23:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=26623"},"modified":"2020-11-20T10:46:37","modified_gmt":"2020-11-20T10:46:37","slug":"rights-and-fights-that-can-and-must-be-won","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=26623","title":{"rendered":"\u00e2\u20ac\u0098Rights and fights that can and must be won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s night time in Wroclaw, south west Poland. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s dark. The streets are filled with people in face masks holding placards and chanting \u00e2\u20ac\u0098I think, I feel, I decide\u00e2\u20ac\u2122. Police vans and officers \u00e2\u20ac\u201c some in riot gear, line the sides of the streets to try and keep order. Headlights from the police vans illuminate the protesters.<\/p>\n

The crowd is peacefully protesting against Poland\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s harsh abortion restrictions. But these spontaneous gatherings can quickly turn to violence if they are hijacked by far right \u00e2\u20ac\u0098pro birth\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 supporters \u00e2\u20ac\u201c whom the Polish protestors refer to as \u00e2\u20ac\u0098Nazis\u00e2\u20ac\u2122.<\/p>\n

Pro birth is the term used by the campaigners as opposed to pro life \u00e2\u20ac\u201c as some of the babies Polish women are forced to carry and give birth to will not live past their first breath they have such severe foetal defects.<\/p>\n

Julia Marciniak is a Unite organiser in Ireland. Last month she returned to Wroclaw, her home town, to join the hundreds of thousands of people protesting against the government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ban on abortions.<\/p>\n

Although Covid restrictions in Poland make it unlawful to gather in groups of more than five, some protests have attracted as many as 100,000 people.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis just shows how strongly people feel about it,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 said Julia. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThey are willing to risk arrest, being beaten by these \u00e2\u20ac\u0098Nazis\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c even their lives. Two people were mowed down by a car during a recent protest in Warsaw.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

Julia\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mum goes with her on protests despite being in her sixties. She is a teacher and feels strongly that people must fight against the government’s imposed abortion restrictions.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI do feel afraid going on these protests. But I want to be a part of it,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 said Julia.<\/p>\n

Punishment for organising a protest is eight years\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 imprisonment and you can be sentenced to one year in prison just for taking part.<\/p>\n

On this night, police line the streets parading in their full riot gear. Right wing thugs attack protestors \u00e2\u20ac\u201c sometimes waiting for people to be travelling home alone \u00e2\u20ac\u201c before beating and even killing them. It can be hard to determine whether the violent attacks are a direct result of people taking part in an anti-abortion protest since these far right gangs attack people for many of their beliefs, as well as their sexuality.<\/p>\n

Abortion law touches everyone<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bAlthough the police are ordered to make arrests they are there to protect us,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 explains Julia. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThey will avoid confrontation at all costs. Some have even been seen to join protests. Abortion law touches everyone. Not just the women forced to carry and give birth to the baby. They have partners, mothers and sisters \u00e2\u20ac\u201c so the abortion restrictions affect them too,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she adds.<\/p>\n

Poland\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s constitutional tribunal has promised to further tighten what are already some of the strictest abortion laws in Europe. It wants terminations to be illegal even in cases where a foetus is diagnosed with a serious and irreversible birth defect. This kind of abortion accounts for almost all of the small number performed legally in the country each year.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Although this near total ban has not yet taken effect, some women are already being turned away from hospitals for terminations that had previously been agreed, on one of the three narrow exceptions. These are when the woman\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s life or health is endangered by the continuation of pregnancy, when the pregnancy is a result of a criminal act, and when there is a high probability of a severe and irreversible foetal impairment.<\/p>\n

Most of the protests are organised through Facebook and are not filtering down from any political party. Even people who voted for the right wing Law and Justice Party mostly do not support tighter abortion restrictions.<\/p>\n

The Law and Justice Party has ruled in Poland since 2015 and has been accused of eroding democratic norms during its time in power, including packing the constitutional tribunal with its own supporters.<\/p>\n

At the moment Polish women must travel abroad to countries like Germany, Slovakia, Sweden or the UK if they need an abortion or pay for an illegal abortion from a sympathetic doctor in Poland. Otherwise they must face carrying and giving birth to a baby that may not survive outside the womb or that they simply don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want or are unable to care for.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt is the poor who are the worst affected by these restrictions as they don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have the money to travel abroad or to pay for an illegal abortion \u00e2\u20ac\u201c which can cost up to three months\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 salary,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 reports Julia.<\/p>\n

Official data shows that in 2019 just 1,100 abortion procedures were performed in Polish hospitals. These include 1,074 for embryo pathological reasons, meaning 98 per cent of terminations were performed in connection with the identification of severe and irreversible foetal defects.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bRape and incest are two of the exceptions to the ban but you must prove that you have been raped which is traumatic for any victim and the justice system is controlled by the government anyway,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 says Julia.<\/p>\n

Women can be forced to do dangerous things out of desperation. It is feared that many have stopped having any pre-natal screening for fear of being investigated by the government. This is putting their lives at risk and also that of the baby by not knowing if there is something that needs medical intervention.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bPeople\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s private lives are not private anymore. The media and the church are both manipulated by the government in order to push their own agenda. Even religious education taught to children in schools is funded by the government so that they can control that too,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Julia continues.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe support is not there for families with disabled children, yet more are being born every day. Some of these children are so disabled they can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even sit unaided and need round the clock care so the parents can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t work to support them.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIf you have a child with a condition like Down\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s syndrome they must go before a panel every year to prove that they still have Down\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s. This is insensitive and humiliating for the families.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

Solidarity <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bHere in Ireland we show solidarity with the women of Poland in their fight for autonomy over their bodies,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 said Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Republic of Ireland senior officer, Brendan Ogle.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe recognise that journey from a country once controlled by Catholic conservativism, to one that has seen the ultimate separation of Church and State, with the delivery of key human rights such as the right to choose, to marriage equality, to divorce, and to gender and LBGTIQ acceptance and rights,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he adds.<\/p>\n

It is three years before there is another election in Poland. Julia is hopeful that they can see the end of the Law and Justice party. A lot of the young people protesting now were too young to vote in the last election. It isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just women who are deeply affected by the beliefs of the current government.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bYou can be beaten and seriously injured for being gay in Poland,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 says Julia. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe only revolution we will get is when people vote a different way. People need to be aware of their choices when they vote,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Julia believes.<\/p>\n

But Julia maintains there is progress. She says the Church is at last losing its influence over the way people think \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a point echoed by Brendan Ogle.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a fight and a journey that Irish people have been on, with much success. We have seen our Constitution radically changed by campaigning and the will of the people expressed in all of these areas. And the Church, while still respected, has largely lost control of the state as secularism has emerged,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he says.<\/p>\n

Equality for all is at the heart of Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ethos. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bUnite will always stand with those fighting for their human rights,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 says Brendan.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe are very pleased that our own Julia Marciniak has been able to bring solidarity to the people of Poland from our Union , as well us encouragement and example that these are rights, and fights, that can and must be won.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

By Jody Whitehill <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s night time in Wroclaw, south west Poland. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s dark. The streets are filled with people in face masks holding placards and chanting \u00e2\u20ac\u0098I think, I feel, I decide\u00e2\u20ac\u2122. Police vans and officers \u00e2\u20ac\u201c some in riot gear, line the sides of the streets to try and keep order. Headlights from the police vans illuminate the protesters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":26625,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[1039,379,37,329,209],"wps_subtitle":"Julia Marciniak, a Unite organiser in Ireland, takes the fight for access to safe, legal terminations back to her home town of Wroclaw, Poland","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26623"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26623"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26623\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26657,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26623\/revisions\/26657"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/26625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}