People block traffic in the center of Warsaw during a protest against a decision by the Constitutional Court on abortion law restriction, Warsaw in Poland, Oct 26, 2020. (Wojtek RADWANSKI / AFP)

Polish women went on strike to protest a nearly complete ban on abortion, escalating a standoff with the government intent on bringing the country back to its traditional Catholic roots.

The unrest comes as coronavirus cases spiral, overwhelming hospitals and increasing the risk of another large-scale lockdown that could further undercut the popularity of Law & Justice

The move comes after Poland’s most-powerful politician, ruling-party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, called on supporters to defend churches from pro-choice protesters, who he called “nihilists.” Last week, the country’s highest court ruled that abortions were illegal in cases when the fetus doesn’t stand a chance to live outside the womb.

Further curbs to what already was one of Europe’s most restrictive abortion laws set off a wave of protests. While it’s not yet clear how many women didn’t show up for work on Wednesday, some schools and businesses shut down due to the strike.

“Shaken, depressed and angry by the decision that strips citizens of dignity and security, I join the strike,” Dorota Fiett, a principal of the Bednarska Szkola Realna, a high school in Warsaw, said on Facebook. Dentons, the biggest international law firm in Poland, declared its “understanding for employees that decided to support the protest.”

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Civilizational threat

The stakes are rising as the government battles back against the protesters, who meet daily in defiance of increasingly strict lockdown rules. Kaczynski said the demonstrations pose a civilizational threat for Poland after activists disrupted religious services.

“I urge all members of Law & Justice and those that support us to take part in defending churches,” Kaczynski, who’s also a deputy prime minister, said Tuesday. “This attack is aimed at destroying Poland and ending the history of the Polish nation as we perceive it.”

Police detained 76 people who “targeted religious sanctuaries” over the weekend, Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski said. With far-right organizations organizing groups to protect churches, safety concerns are growing with several dozen street protests and marches planned for Wednesday across the country of 38 million.

“Radicalism creates radicalism, and the call by Kaczynski to defend churches is in essence consent for unrest,” said Anna Materska-Sosnowska, a political scientist at Warsaw University. “We can expect escalation of protests by young people and women, which is very dangerous.”

The Nationwide Women Strike, the group loosely coordinating the mostly grassroots protests, vowed to continue demonstrating until the government resigns. The group is seeking legalization of abortion and sex education, a secular state, judicial independence and a boost in funding for the health-care system and businesses hit by the pandemic.

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The unrest comes as coronavirus cases spiral, overwhelming hospitals and increasing the risk of another large-scale lockdown that could further undercut the popularity of Law & Justice. Poland’s currency, the zloty, tumbled to its weakest level against the euro since April on Wednesday.

“The government may be using this emotional issue as a political ploy to deflect attention away from the increasingly worrying COVID pandemic,” said Piotr Matys, an emerging-market strategist at Rabobank in London. “Over the longer term, conflicts between the government and large swathes of society can impact how foreign investors view Poland.”