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Polish PM appeals for major abortion-law protest to be called off

29.10.2020 18:08
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has issued a plea for a major protest against tighter abortion laws planned for Friday to be called off as coronavirus infections and deaths hit a record.
PM Minister Mateusz Morawiecki talks to reporters on Thursday.
PM Minister Mateusz Morawiecki talks to reporters on Thursday.Photo: PAP/Radek Pietruszka

Thousands have taken to the streets around Poland for seven straight days to protest against a ruling by the Constitutional Tribunal which in practice signals a near-total ban on abortion in the overwhelmingly Roman Catholic country.

The biggest demonstration so far is planned for Friday in Warsaw, state news agency PAP reported.

Morawiecki appealed for the protest not to be held "because of the epidemic and COVID-19, because it is a threat to the lives of our senior citizens.”

He added: “Younger people also are dying."

Morawiecki also appealed to protesters to “let this anger, let this aversion focus on me, on politicians” rather than put the elderly in danger.

Senior citizens are considered to be the most at risk from the coronavirus.

The street demonstrations around Poland have been held in defiance of rules that ban large gatherings amid the COVID-19 epidemic.

Poland on Thursday reported a record 20,156 new coronavirus infections and a record 301 new deaths, its worst daily toll since the start of the pandemic.


(pk)

Source: PAP/Polish Radio