Germany steps up crackdown on anti-abortion protests

[Stone]

Germany steps up crackdown on anti-abortion protests



Christian groups in Munich have long been protesting outside the Pro Familia office thereImage: Sachelle Babbar/ZUMA/picture alliance

DW [slightly adapted] | January 24, 2024

As the abortion debate heats up in Germany, the government is tightening its grip on "pro-life" protests. Reproductive rights advocates say the anti-abortion movement in Europe is influenced by US money and tactics.

Family Minister Lisa Paus (Green Party) announced on January 24 a draft law to prevent demonstrators from approaching or harassing visitors within a 100-meter (320 ft) radius of abortion clinics and family planning centers. Posters or flyers aimed at intimidating women will also be banned. Anyone violating the ban could be punished with a fine of up to €5,000 ($5,445).

Paus said that it was important that women were able to receive good advice in such difficult situations without being confronted with "hatred and agitation." "That's why we are striking a balance between freedom of expression and the right of assembly," Paus told German public broadcaster ZDF.

Protests outside of abortion clinics and family planning centers are common in the United States, where abortion is a highly partisan and dominant political issue. Planned Parenthood, which provides reproductive health care and advice at centers throughout the US, even has guidelines on its website for patients on how to deal with protesters gathered outside of its centers.

Although less widespread and less well-publicized than those in the US, anti-abortion protests outside counseling centers and abortion clinics are not a new phenomenon in Germany.

"We didn't see this phenomenon in Germany before, but it has increased in recent years," said Family Minister Paus.


Read the rest of the article here.