Pforzheim, a German city, had banned 40 Days for Life activists from praying near the Pro-Family abortion center.
Newsroom (July 10, 2023, 3:35 PM, Gaudium Press) Pro-life and Catholic news outlets rejoiced at the news that the Federal Administrative Court of Leipzig, one of Germany’s five supreme courts, has recognized the right of 40 Days for Life participants to gather to pray near abortion centers in the city of Pforzheim.
The city had banned people from praying near the Pro Familia abortion facility, even though they were separated from it by a four-lane wide road. Pro Familia is the German arm of Planned Parenthood that performs and financially benefits from abortions throughout Germany.
“The Leipzig Court has once again made it clear that peaceful prayer vigils cannot be banned,” said Dr Felix Böllmann, advocacy director of ADF International, an international human rights organization.
The court’s decision now ratifies one in the same vein by the Mannheim Administrative Court in 2022, a case that 40 Days for Life was also a plaintiff in.
“Our prayers really do help, as the women affected have told us time and again. I am grateful that we can continue our prayer vigils. Every human life is precious and deserves protection,” said Tomislav Cunovic, a lawyer representing 40 Days for Life.
In the opposite direction, the once-Catholic Ireland, formerly the “Island of the Saints”, now wants to prevent even silent prayer.
A bill is currently in the works that would penalize anyone who “repeatedly protests” outside an abortion facility with a fine of 2,500 euros or six months in prison, thus violating the so-called freedoms of thought, worship and expression. As they have done elsewhere, the bill seeks to establish what they call “safe access zones” around these centers.
Composed by Zephania Gangl
