Thousands of people protested across Poland on Thursday to demand abortion rights, according to AP, DW and Euronews.

Rallies were held in Warsaw and more than 20 other cities, DW and Euronews reported. Euronews said the protests marked six years since a court ruling brought a near-total ban.

Protesters carried red cards under the slogan "Red card for abortion," Euronews reported. Signs read "Women's hell continues," DW and Euronews reported.

Protesters accused Prime Minister Donald Tusk's liberal government of breaking its promise to ease the laws, the outlets reported.

Parliament passed two bills on Tuesday to ease abortion rules, the outlets reported. President Karol Nawrocki, a conservative, is expected to veto them, they said.

One bill would remove criminal penalties for helping someone get an abortion, Euronews reported. That is now punishable by up to three years in prison, Euronews and DW said. The other would undo a 2020 ruling that banned abortion for severe fetal defects, Euronews reported.

Zofia Marcinek of the Abortion Dream Team called the bills "token gestures," AP and Euronews reported. She said the government knew they could not survive a veto, AP said.

"These are breadcrumbs," Kinga Jelinska of the Women Help Women Foundation said, according to DW, citing AFP.

Since 1993, Poland has allowed abortion only for severe fetal defects, risk to the mother, or rape or incest, the outlets reported. The 2020 ruling removed the fetal defect reason, they said.

Most abortions in Poland are done at home with pills from abroad, AP reported. Women who end their own pregnancies do not face charges, but people who help them can, AP and DW reported.

Tusk's coalition won the 2023 election partly on a promise to ease the laws, AP reported. The next election is a year away, AP said.

What we know: Women rallied in more than 20 cities as two reform bills face a likely veto.
What we don't: Whether Nawrocki will veto the bills, and what Tusk's government will do next.