The protest in Warsaw was the culmination of nine days of nationwide protests since a court ruling on October 22 deemed abortion due to fetal defects to be unconstitutional. According to local media, 430,000 people attended more than 400 demonstrations across the country against the ban on Wednesday. The protests have been taking place in defiance of a ban on gatherings of more than five people due to the coronavirus pandemic. Duda had earlier clarified his stance on abortion in such cases in an interview with Polish radio station RMF FM. Abortion rights protest leaders have accused the populist PiS party of pushing the court to tighten abortion restrictions in order to please the party's base, and the Church.

Source: The Nation October 31, 2020 13:07 UTC