Ruling party leader blames opposition for abortion protests

Jarosław Kaczyński, leader of Poland's ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, has blamed the opposition for the mass protests which erupted countrywide following last Thursday's passage of a ban on abortion due to foetal damage.

Last Thursday Poland's constitutional court ruled that to-date laws allowing abortion on foetal damage grounds are unconstitutional. Explaining the motives behind the verdict, the court said human life warranted protection in every development phase.

The ruling sparked hefty protests countrywide.

In a Tuesday address in the Sejm (lower house), Kaczyński called the opposition "criminals" for encouraging the protests during the COVID-19 epidemic, and accused it of "taking Poland apart" for its own interests.

"Right now you are taking Poland apart and putting countless people at the risk of death in the name of your own, petty, dirty (...) interests. You are criminals," Kaczyński said in the Sejm.

He added that the opposition will "answer" for its support of the protests and the resulting raised risk of infection with COVID-19.

Kaczyński's address came in response to earlier accusations against him by Cezary Tomczyk, caucus head for Poland's main opposing party Civic Platform (PO). Tomczyk, who took the floor to ask for a report on security levels in Poland, personally accused Kaczyński of advocating mob rule against the protesters in a Tuesday address.

"Yesterday you came out against the citizens of Poland. This is not only deeply immoral, not only scandalous, but it is also a heavy crime against the people (...), a crime for which you will have to pay. You are directly responsible for what is happening in Poland. This is your responsibility and it's your hands that the blood is on," Tomczyk told Kaczyński.

On Wednesday, a nationwide strike by women over the judgment of the Constitutional Tribunal on abortion is taking place.