Thousands take to the streets in Poland to protest near-total abortion ban

Thousands of people, mainly women, took to the streets of the Polish capital on Friday to take part in another evening protest against a near-total abortion ban.

Demonstrators started at a roundabout in the very center of Warsaw, at Daszynski Square - re-named by the protesters Women's Rights Square.

From there the crowd moved north but was stopped by a police blockade.

The protesters and the police faced off several times with officers using pepper spray at least once to disperse the crowds.

Demonstrations over the ban that gives Poland one of the most restrictive laws in Europe have been taking place in Warsaw, Gdansk and other cities for the past three nights.

The constitutional court ruled in October to ban abortions in cases of fetal disorders, even severe and fatal ones, and the ruling finally became law on Wednesday.

Opponents call the law draconian, noting that it forces women to even carry to term fetuses with lethal defects or with disorders so considerable they could live their entire lives severely disabled or in a vegetative state.

(Image Credit: AP)