Warsaw, 14 June 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Following the death of a pregnant woman during hospital treatment in Poland, thousands of people across the country took to the streets on Wednesday to protest against the country's strict abortion legislation.

In Warsaw, many demonstrators gathered in the city centre. They carried pictures of the deceased and placards reading "We want to give birth, not die" and "We want doctors, not missionaries."

Similar protests were reported from Kraków, Poznan, Lodz and several other cities. The motto was "No more. Stop killing us."

The protests marked the death of a 33-year-old pregnant woman in the hospital in Nowy Targ in southern Poland.

The woman, named Dorota, died of sepsis on May 24. Three days earlier, she had been admitted to the clinic at 20 weeks pregnant after amniotic fluid had leaked.

Although the health of the pregnant woman continued to deteriorate, the doctors did not act.

The public prosecutor's office is now investigating the case. Women's organizations have raised serious allegations against the doctors involved in the woman's treatment.

But Poland's strict abortion laws often make it difficult for doctors to intervene.

In 2021, stricter abortion laws came into force in Poland after a controversial ruling by the constitutional court. Since then, women are not allowed to have an abortion even in cases of severe fetal abnormalities.

In recent years, there have been several similar cases in Poland in which pregnant women have died after doctors, despite complications, decided against carrying out an abortion.

Photo: Logo