Poland Swept Up in Protests as Abortion Ruling Is Enforced

  • Constitutional Tribunal publishes verdict from October ruling
  • Thousands join ad-hoc demonstrations across the country

Demonstrators wearing protective masks hold banners during a protest in Warsaw on Jan. 20.

Photographer: Omar Marques/Getty Images

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Thousands of abortion-rights advocates took to the streets across Poland after a legal panel made clear that a ruling effectively banning women from terminating pregnancies would come into force.

Resuming some of the largest anti-government rallies since the collapse of communism three decades ago, protesters on Wednesday defied lockdown restrictions on public gatherings as well as freezing temperatures.