Warsaw, Mar 8 (AP) Polish abortion rights activists opened a centre across from the parliament building in Warsaw on Saturday where women can go to have abortions with pills, either alone or with other women.

Opening the centre on International Women's Day across from the legislature was a symbolic challenge to authorities in the traditionally Roman Catholic nation, which has one of Europe's most restrictive laws.

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A small but loud group of protesters stood outside the centre as activists gathered inside for its inauguration. The activists had private security guards, while police also separated the protesters from those inside.

Activists with the group Abortion Dream Team say it is the first stationary abortion centre in Poland. It is meant to offer support to women who prefer not to have abortions alone in their bathrooms at home.

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They also say they want to put pressure on politicians and to destigmatise abortion in a society where they say one in four women have had the procedure but it remains a taboo topic.

The country's centrist prime minister, Donald Tusk, came to power in an election in 2023 in which he vowed to liberalise the country's abortion law. But the coalition he leads spans a broad ideological divide, with lawmakers on the left who want to legalise abortion and conservatives strongly opposed.

Last year he acknowledged that he lacks the backing in parliament to change the law. Allowing abortion up to the 12th week of pregnancy had been one of his campaign promises. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)