Thousands of Poles took to the streets of Warsaw on Sunday (December 13) to protest the government's tightening of the country's abortion law.

The protest, organised by the women's rights group Women's Strike, coincided with the 39th anniversary of the 1981 martial law crackdown by Poland's communist regime.

Footage shows thousands of protesters with banners, placards and loudhailers, despite the coronavirus restrictions banning gatherings of five or more people.

The protesters gathered at a central intersection and began marching to the home of Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the head of the ruling Law and Justice party.

Riot police blocked the protesters, forcing them to take another route along the Vistula River to reach Kaczynski's home in the northern Zoliborz district.

An October 22 ruling by the Polish constitutional court banning abortions of foetuses with congenital defects, even when the foetus has no chance of survival at birth, sparked mass protests across the country.

This footage was filmed and produced 13 December 2020.
Thousands marched Sunday in Warsaw and other Polish cities to protest the country's right-wing government, the latest demonstrations after a high court ruled to tighten the country's already restrictive abortion law.
Sunday’s protests coincided with the 39th anniversary of the 1981 martial law crackdown by Poland's communist regime. Many Poles accuse the current government of acting more and more like that authoritarian regime by disregarding the civil liberties of citizens.
Due to a ban on gatherings by more than five people amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the marches were organized as “spontaneous walks" and the slogan was: “We are going for freedom. We are going for everything!"
The protests were organized by the Women’s Strike, a group behind recent mass nationwide protests. Others also joined in, including farmers and entrepreneurs angry at the government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
The weeks of protests have morphed into the largest protest movement in Poland since communism fell three decades ago. An Oct. 22 ruling by the Polish constitutional court to ban abortions of fetuses with congenital defects, even when the fetus has no chance of survival at birth, sparked the protests, which have now grown to include other grievances.
The protesters gathered at a central intersection and began marching to the home of Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the head of the ruling Law and Justice party. Riot police blocked the protesters, forcing them to take another route along the Vistula River to reach Kaczynski's home in the northern Zoliborz district.
Police announced on loudspeakers that the protest was illegal, saying “we have an epidemic." To that the protesters replied: “We have an epidemic of PiS,” using the Polish acronym for Law and Justice. “We are overthrowing the government!”
Many carried European Union and rainbow flags to show their support for liberal Western values.