Thousands of people took to the streets across Poland on Friday in defiance of tight coronavirus restrictions, following a ruling by the Constitutional Tribunal on Thursday that imposes a near-total ban on abortion.

According to Reuters, the court announced that abortions due to foetal defects were unconstitutional, ending the most common of the few legal grounds for abortion, and setting Poland further apart from the European mainstream.

Carrying banners that read, "This is War" and "1.5-metres from my uterus", thousands gathered near the house of Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the ruling nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party leader, in an affluent Warsaw neighbourhood.

For the second night running, a cordon of police clad in riot gear blocked them from reaching his house, using loudspeakers to ask protesters to disperse and respect restrictions on public gathering.

(With input from agencies)