The court ruled that allowing abortions due to fetal defects is unconstitutional, paving the way for a near-total ban on the procedure in Poland. The country already has one of the most restrictive laws in Europe.

Poland's Constitutional Court on Thursday ruled that a law allowing abortion due to fetal defects is unconstitutional. 

The ruling on the country's abortion law, which is already one of the most restrictive in Europe, means that Poland has implemented a near-total ban on abortion in the heavily Catholic country.

The ruling came after conservatives from the governing right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party called for a ban on the termination of pregnancies in the case of congenital defects — one of the few instances under which a pregnancy could still legally be terminated in the country. 

Since 1993, Poland has only allowed abortions if the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest, if it poses a threat to the mother's life or if the fetus is deformed.  

The introduction of the latest restrictions subsequently spurred a nationwide outcry over women's rights.  

The NGO Akcja Demokracja (Action Democracy) said that more than 210,000 people had signed its petition against the changes, while protesters gathered on Thursday in front of the Constitutional Court building. 

Fewer than 2,000 legal abortions take place annually, in the country of 38 million people. However, rights groups estimate that up to 200,000 procedures are performed illegally or abroad. Attempts to tighten the abortion law in 2016 were scrapped after tens of thousands took to the streets in protest.