Protests against abortion ban backed by vast majority of Poles

Seventy percent of Poles support the ongoing mass street demonstrations against the top court ruling which would see almost all abortions made illegal in Poland, a recent survey by the Kantar pollster shows.

The protests have been ongoing since October 22 when a ruling by the Constitutional Tribunal halted pregnancy terminations for foetal abnormalities, one of the few legal grounds left for abortion in the country. Under enormous pressure, the Polish government has delayed implementation of the controversial ruling.

Twenty-five percent of the those polled said they did not back the demonstrations, while 5 percent did not have opinion on the matter.

Thirteen percent of those responding to the survey, with more women than men, said they had taken part in the protests. However, the poll also discovered that support for the strikes was at a similar level between both sexes.

In the group of respondents aged 18-24, 29 percent admitted they had taken to the streets.

The survey was run on November 6-12 on a sample of 1,010 adult Poles.