Abortion was banned in Poland already: exceptions were made for rape, incest, a mother in danger of dying and fetuses so malformed they wouldn't survive. The new law takes that away; it will force women to give birth to babies that will die. That's the only point of it. https://twitter.com/BBCWorld/status/1319726564737765378

The previous set of rules was long accepted as a "compromise" between religious and non-religious Poles. The change is wildly unpopular, with support in the single digits. It is possible because the Constitutional Tribunal was illegally and unconstitutionally altered.

People are protesting both the level of disrespect shown to women who would, by definition, be enduring a personal tragedy, as well as the illegal assault on the courts.

Why did they do this now? My guess is that the Polish ruling party has learned from the Trump administration that a bitter culture war is a useful tool if you want people to stop talking about your government's utter failure to cope with the pandemic.