Poland Links Covid Woes With Abortion Protests as Ruling Delayed
- Stalling tactics come against backdrop of new Covid-19 curbs
- Court decision triggered two weeks of women-led demonstrations
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Poland’s government is stalling the implementation of a high-court ruling that effectively bans abortion amid some of the biggest street demonstrations in decades, while shifting blame for a record coronavirus outbreak on protesters.
Though the political climate is tense, the delay appears to be a tactical slowdown aimed at avoiding a new flareup in demonstrations at a time the government is considering more lockdown measures. Verdicts become binding after they’re printed in a government gazette and the cabinet missed a Nov. 2 deadline to publish a ruling that further tightens one of Europe’s strictest laws on ending pregnancies.