Poland to implement near-total ban on abortion on Wednesday 

A rally organised by Poland's Women Strike movement in 2020 (file photo) 

Credit: Agencja Gazeta via REUTERS

A controversial Polish court ruling that imposes a near-total ban on abortion will come into force on Wednesday, the government said, in an announcement expected to spark major protests.

"The ruling will be published today in the Journal of Laws," the government information centre said on Twitter.

Poland was rocked by massive demonstrations when the Constitutional Court ruling was first issued in October.

The ruling said that abortions in cases of foetal abnormalities were "incompatible" with the constitution.

It means that all abortions in Poland will now be banned except in cases of rape and incest and when the mother’s life or health are considered to be at risk.

The ruling is in line with the policies of the governing right-wing Law and Justice party (PiS).

Women’s Strike, the organisation behind the demonstrations against the ruling, called for a protest later on Wednesday outside the Constitutional Court in Warsaw.

Poland, a predominantly Catholic country, already has one of Europe’s most restrictive laws on abortion.

There are fewer than 2,000 legal abortions every year and women’s groups estimate that an additional 200,000 women abort either illegally or abroad.