Numerous points of view are on offer. Some focus on love. Others are angry. Social media's having a field day.

Catholics, Catholicism and the Judiciary are targets for protesters. They all have their story.

Yet - provided nobody is violent, Catholic President Joe Biden is all but silent.

Abortion survivors' stories

Abortion survivors have appeared on television offering hope to women facing unplanned pregnancies. Their testimonies speak of alternatives and lives filled with love:

"If you are facing an unplanned pregnancy right now, I would say I hope that our stories bring you hope."

"There's hope and there's life sustaining options."

"I was adopted and placed in a loving home where my mom didn't have hope that she would ever have a family."

"As we've survived those procedures, I hope ... as our story was reclaimed, that yours and your child's can be reclaimed too."

Pro-choice response

One pro-choice group protesting against the leaked opinion is seeking support for rolling protests throughout this week.

Called Ruth Sent Us after the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg (pro abortion former Supreme Court Justice), the group is urging people to go on strike.

Using social media contacts, they are gauging support by asking signatories to complete a tick sheet about what they'll be doing to support the cause.

Some of the options include going on strike - eg from work, school or unpaid work - and offering to help spread the word via social media contacts.

Protests are being called for.

A Twitter user, who offered to pray for the Ruth Sent Us group after they called for protests at Catholic churches and the homes of the judiciary on Mother's Day, met strong opposition.

"Stuff your rosaries and your weaponised prayer. We will remain outraged after this weekend, so keep praying. We'll be burning the Eucharist to show our disgust for the abuse Catholic Churches have condoned for centuries," Ruth Sent Us tweeted.

"We rise up against a corrupt and illegitimate Supreme Court."

The President's position

The White House says Biden does not have an opinion on the use of protests to influence Supreme Court opinions.

"The President believes in peaceful protest.

"He believes that's part of our democracy and part of the history of the United States and this country.

"But he also respects and understands the independence of the third branch of government, and — I mean, obviously, the Justice Department — but also the role of the Supreme Court and what they play."

So long as people are peaceful in their approach, Biden's not about to interfere. He hasn't seen any violence yet, it seems.

Not everyone sees the world with his eyes, however.

"Promises to ‘burn the Eucharist'? Fighting words. This is NOT a peaceful protest,"says NewsBusters executive editor Tim Graham.

Source

• Fox News
• Twitter
• Ruth Sent Us
• Fox News
• Fox Mews
• Fox News
• Image: WTVY

Ania Bielawska and Lukasz Stanek drew profanities on their naked bodies. They then paraded in front of photographers at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw.

Their demonstration was short-lived as police quickly wrapped them in blankets and led them away.

The Constitutional Tribunal last month banned terminations due to foetal defects, ending one of the few legal grounds left for abortion.

This type of abortion accounts for almost all of the small number of abortions performed legally in Poland.

Thousands have taken to Polish streets almost every day since. These have been the largest protests since the fall of communism.

While primarily demanding abortion rights, the protests have also expressed deep-seated anger at Poland's nationalist rulers.

The demonstrations also highlight the divisions between liberals and religious conservatives in the staunchly Catholic country.

The Law and Justice (PiS) party has ruled Poland since 2015. The party has been accused of eroding democratic norms during its time in power.

Protesters have ignored a ban on gatherings of more than five people, intended to slow the spread of coronavirus, and have come out in force.

More than 100,000 people gathered in the streets of Warsaw on Friday evening for the largest gathering so far. They shouted pro-choice and anti-PiS slogans.

But, in the last few days, Poland's right wing government has announced a delay in implementing the controversial court ruling. It is thought the growing public discontent has forced this delay.

"There is a discussion going on, and it would be good to take some time for dialogue and for finding a new position in this situation, which is difficult and stirs high emotions," Michał Dworczyk, the head of the prime minister's office, told Polish media on Tuesday.

The prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, has called for talks with protesters and opposition MPs about the Polish abortion law. The PiS-aligned president, Andrzej Duda, suggested a new proposal that would allow abortion in cases of life-threatening birth defects but not for conditions such as Down's syndrome.

Sources

Reuters

The Guardian