German high court rules against restricting pro-life speech

Pro-life advocates are celebrating after a German high court ruled that people cannot be barred from praying or protesting peacefully outside abortion facilities.

Die Tagespost reported that the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig, one of five federal supreme courts in Germany, issued a ruling saying that blanket bans on praying or other peaceful gatherings outside of abortion facilities infringe upon the the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, and therefore, cannot be permitted.

Previously, the city of Pforzhei had put a ban in place around the “Pro Familia” counseling center, which does not commit abortions, but issues certificates allowing women to undergo abortions.

40 Days for Life fought the ruling, and the Baden-Württemberg Administrative Court ruled in their favor; Pforzhei then appealed to the Federal Administrative Court. Though Pforzhei claimed women were subjected to harassment and a “gauntlet run,” judges disagreed and said there was no evidence to back that up.

“I’m really relieved. Our prayers really help, as affected women have told us time and time again,” Pavica Vojnović, leader of the 40 Days for Life prayer group in Pforzheim, said in a press release for ADF International. “I am grateful that we can continue our prayer vigils. Every human life is precious and deserves protection.”

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“The Leipzig court has once again made it clear that peaceful prayer vigils cannot be banned,” Felix Böllmann, head of the European legal team for ADF International, said, adding (emphasis added):

In view of the clear court ruling, the federal government is well advised to refrain from its plans to massively restrict fundamental rights in the environment of abortion organizations … [t]he ruling upholds the fundamental importance of freedom of assembly and expression in the public square. The court has affirmed the fundamental right of Pavica and her group to come together to pray in peace. It is duplicitous and misleading to advance bans on prayer gatherings in the name of protecting women. The harassment of women is always, and already, a crime in Germany.

Federal Family Minister Lisa Paus has been calling not only for abortion to be decriminalized, but for
pro-life speech to be blocked.

Abortion is technically illegal in Germany, as it remains on the penal code, but it is typically permitted before 12 weeks gestation. “We are working flat out to end sidewalk harassment of pregnant women,” Paus said. “It’s not easy, because we’re dealing with the conflict between women’s right to self-determination and the demonstrators’ right to freedom of assembly and expression.”

With the court ruling, Paus will seemingly have a harder time infringing upon the rights of pro-life advocates in the future.