Black Monday. Hopefully, you've heard of it. On Monday, October 3, 2016, the women of Poland held a "Black Monday" Protest.The protest is in response to the proposal of a total abortion ban in the country. Poland, which is mostly catholic, already has some of the most strict abortion laws in all of Europe. Abortion is illegal except in cases of rape, incest, danger to the mother's life or irreparable damage to a fetus. With the proposal of the the total abortion ban, the Associated Press reports that any form of abortion could carry jail time of up to five years for both women and their doctors no matter the circumstances of the abortion.
Sounds unreal, right? It gets better.
Miscarriages could lead to a prison term of up to three years. It could make it illegal to even intervene in cases of ectopic pregnancy — when a fertilized egg implants outside the uterus, a situation that is dangerous for the mother and almost always fatal for the fetus.
It's bloody ridiculous, to put it nicely.
Thousands of women in black went on strike across Poland on Monday, closing down restaurants, government offices and university classes, and blocking access to the ruling party headquarters in Warsaw to protest against plans for a total ban on abortion. Rightfully so.
Needless to say, I stand in solidarity with the women of Poland. I simply cannot understand why there's this constant need to police issues like these; usually by men who will never give birth or become pregnant in their life. Regardless of political or religious views, essentially this ban is telling a woman that her undeveloped child's life is more important than hers. If it's a health issue, you would rather women die than to fix the problem. The fact that this bid is even out on the table is beyond me.
Jailing women for miscarriages? Statistically, one in four women will suffer a miscarriage at some point. To jail women for something that is usually out of a woman's control is not only bigoted, but disgusting and insensitive.
Women are more than just containers for children. That's not to say that motherhood and childbirth is not a beautiful thing, but to jail women on such hideous terms says a lot about how the life of women are valued. Misogyny is alive and well, and it continues to manifest itself in more ways than one.
Feminism isn't about burning bras, women are literally fighting for fundamental human rights in the year of our Lord 2016. Something has got to give.
