Tens of thousands took to the streets on Friday in cities across Poland to oppose a new plan tightening the country’s abortion laws.

Protesters were seen letting off flares, chanting through loudspeakers and holding up banners with strongly worded messages, defying a move that would further restrict women’s access to abortion.

Poland has some of the strictest abortion laws in Europe, with the procedure only permitted if the life of the foetus is at risk, or if there is grave threat to the health of the mother or the pregnancy was the result of rape or incest.

People gather in Warsaw to protest against plans to further restrict abortion laws, (Ajencja Gazeta/Reuters)

The latest proposed legislation would allow procedures in cases where the mother’s life was at risk or the pregnancy resulted from a crime, but would ban abortions of foetuses with congenital disorders.

Around 55,000 people took part in the protest as part of “Black Friday” in Poland’s capital city Warsaw, a city hall spokesman said, while police gave a lower estimate of 20,000.

A woman holds up a banner reading 'secular law’ (Agencja Gazeta/Reuters)

Protesters gathered at the seat of the Roman Catholic bishops, before marching to the parliament and later moving on to the headquarters of the ruling right-wing party housing the office of party leader Jarosław Kaczyński.

Thousands of people participated in other major cities, with a protest of hundreds in Wrocław that included a sign that said: “I will not give birth to a dead baby,” while banners in the city of Łódź branded the message: “My body, my choice.”

Malgorzata, 58, a psychologist who was part of the demonstration in Wrocław, said: “I am against treating woman as an inferior type of human being. I support women’s rights to decide about their bodies and their lives.”

People gather in Łódź to protest plans to further restrict abortion laws (Agencja Gazeta/Reuters) (Reuters)

The bill, already approved for further debate by the lower chamber of parliament in January and by a parliamentary committee earlier this week, would ban abortions of foetuses with congenital disorders, which currently covers more than 90 percent of legal abortions.

A group of UN human rights experts recently called on parliament to reject the bill, saying it risked causing serious damage to women’s health.

Nils Muižnieks, of the Council of Europe human rights group said preventing women from accessing safe and legal abortion care “jeopardises their human rights”.