Poland’s far-right amplifies abortion wars ahead of election

Poland’s abortion debate has once again taken a dangerous turn — this time sparked by far-right MEP Grzegorz Braun, who stormed a Polish hospital to attempt a citizen’s arrest of a doctor performing a medically-indicated late-term abortion. Braun, a presidential hopeful from the extreme-right in the upcoming May elections, accused the doctor of committing “murder,” live-streaming his political stunt to rally his conservative base

Currently, abortion is only legal in Poland in two circumstances: if the pregnancy is the result of rape (up to 12 weeks), or if the pregnancy poses a threat to the woman's life or health. The third legal reason — severe fetal abnormalities — was abolished in 2020 when the Law and Justice (PiS)-controlled constitutional tribunal ruled it unconstitutional, effectively reducing the number of abortions performed in hospitals by 90 percent. Since then, abortion has become not just a medical issue, but a political weapon of the far-right — used to polarise, control, and distract.

Ahead of Poland’s presidential elections, the stakes are high. Braun is not alone. Sławomir Mentzen, another far-right figure with presidential ambitions, shares Braun’s anti-abortion rhetoric and anti-Ukrainian narratives, eerily echoing the Kremlin’s talking points. Both politicians blame Ukrainians, over 1.5 million of whom have sought refuge in Poland, despite the country's persistent labour shortages and its fastest-growing economy in Europe. This narrative, while false, resonates with voters who are struggling with inflation and a housing crisis despite economic growth that is still not felt by many. In times of social struggle, extreme ideas that victimise and blame others are very dangerous. And Polish society has clearly still not shed the victim mask based on martyrdom and centuries of trauma — a tool used by the extreme right to self-sabotage Poland's development as a society.

Abortion is still criminalised in Poland — a person who helps a woman to have an abortion can face up to three years in prison. In 2023, Justyna Wydrzynska, one of the founders of the Abortion Dream Team, was found guilty of assisting a woman to terminate her pregnancy and was sentenced to community service, but the court ordered a retrial in early 2025.

A legislative proposal last summer attempted to decriminalise assistance up to 12 weeks, but did not obtain majority support. In most of Europe, abortion is legal on request up to a certain point — 12 to 24 weeks in countries like France, Germany, and the Netherlands. Poland remains an outlier.

Donald Tusk’s new government, despite promises of change, has been unable to deliver on abortion reform. That’s largely due to the veto power of President Andrzej Duda, a PiS affiliate who has blocked progressive legislation. Tusk's coalition also includes the Polish People's Party (PSL), a conservative group that opposes both the liberalisation of abortion and civil partnerships (for both heterosexual and same-sex couples. As a result, Poland remains a country where same-sex couples have no legal recognition — no civil partnerships, no marriage equality, and no guaranteed rights.

The upcoming presidential election could be a turning point. Rafał Trzaskowski, the current mayor of Warsaw and the candidate of Tusk's liberal centre-right Civic Coalition, has a mixed record. On the one hand, he was the first mayor to offer official patronage to Warsaw Pride, signalling support for LGBTQ+ rights. On the other hand, in a bid to capture conservative voters, he recently proposed stripping Ukrainian women of social benefits if they do not work, a policy widely criticised for fuelling xenophobia.

Trzaskowski’s appeal to the right may be tactical, but it risks alienating progressive voters. His opponent, Karol Nawrocki, a PiS-backed candidate, is gaining momentum. A Nawrocki win would give the PiS-aligned right veto power again, likely paralysing the Tusk government and preventing any meaningful social reform.

If Trzaskowski wins, it could empower the Civic Coalition to break from the conservative PSL and Poland 2050, another centrist-liberal group blocking abortion reform. Early elections and realignment could finally make progress possible, both on reproductive rights and LGBTQ+ protection.

But many in Poland are tired. Tired of fighting. Tired of protesting. In the shadow of global crises - war in Ukraine and Gaza, climate change, inflation - everyday survival takes precedence. Demonstrations that once filled the streets after the 2020 abortion ruling now feel like a distant memory.

Yet silence is not an option. If the past few years have shown us anything, from the US Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, the ban of pride in Hungary, and the UK Supreme Court ruling on the definition of ‘woman’- it’s that rights once gained can be taken back. Especially the rights of women and minorities. These rights are always the first to be questioned - and the easiest to erode.

So maybe resistance needs to look different now. Not just in marches, but in everyday conversations. Maybe it's in the small moments: calling out the anti-Ukrainian joke at the dinner table, correcting your grandfather's "pro-life" propaganda, refusing to let hate go unchallenged, even in private.

Change won't happen overnight. But if we start with our families, our neighbours, our local communities — maybe it doesn't always have to end in protest. And maybe women's rights and minority rights will stop being used as political weapons, when society stops accepting hate speech as an inherent part of public debate.