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Germany cracks down on ‘pro-life’ protests

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 protestors 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.

Pro-life protests in Germany
In the early afternoon on a gray and windy Friday in February, a dozen protesters from EuroProLife slowly began to appear opposite the Pro Familia family planning advice and counseling center in Frankfurt’s Westend.

Clutching hymn sheets and rosaries, they chanted the Hail Mary prayer. Some held placards bearing images of smiling babies or a tiny clenched fist with the slogans “Unborn Lives Matter” and “Abortion Is Not a Solution.”

The demonstration was held by 40 Days for Life, a movement that originated in the US state of Texas in 2004. It calls on protesters to hold so-called “vigils” outside of abortion facilities for 40 days beginning on Ash Wednesday to coincide with Lent.

The protesters say they have been unfairly portrayed by the press, and that their words have been misreported and turned against them. They simply want to pray in peace, they say.

Claudia Hohmann has been the director of the Pro Familia Center in Frankfurt for nine years. She remembers the day in 2017 when protesters first appeared on the normally quiet square close to the entrance of the city’s botanical gardens.

“It was a real shock,” Hohmann says. “I’m sure there are women who aren’t so affected by it, but there are individuals who carry that [experience] with them into counseling and are then less open to talking. The situation outside simply fuels feelings of shame and guilt.”

Under Section 218 of the German Criminal Code, abortion is illegal, but it is possible up to 12 weeks after conception only if a counseling certificate is obtained at least three days before the procedure. Without this certificate, any woman who has an abortion is liable to prosecution, as is the doctor who performs the procedure.

Pro Familia has branches in cities throughout Germany and is certified to issue the required certificates. The office in Frankfurt offers counseling to around 1,700 pregnant people each year.

Hohmann says that protests not only have a psychological impact on those visiting the center — where the singing and prayers by protesters can be heard inside the building — but people are also becoming too intimidated to seek counseling.

Claudia Hohmann sitting in her officeClaudia Hohmann sitting in her office
Claudia Hohmann has been the director of the Pro Familia center in Frankfurt for nine yearsImage: Helen Whittle/DW
“Freedom of speech is all well and good,” Hohmann told DW. “Just not here. It’s very targeted and that’s what is so perfidious about it.”

The activists outside the counseling center call the protests “vigils” and, Hohmann says, are careful to portray themselves as peaceful demonstrators simply expressing an opinion.

“Of course, we’re glad that they don’t shout at us or throw things at us, but that’s not the point. It’s a friendliness behind which lies a lot of aggression towards people,” Hohmann says.

Fewer abortion clinics
According to Germany’s Statistical Office, around 100,000 abortions are performed each year in the country, down from 130,899 in 1996. In some parts of Germany, it can be difficult for those seeking an abortion to find a clinic — in some cities there are none.

Medical schools do not always teach the procedure, and fewer and fewer graduates want to work in this area of healthcare. At the same time, the doctors who do provide the service are often older and are retiring. Between 2003 and 2020, the number of clinics offering abortion services fell 50% to only 1109.

Why are abortions still illegal in Germany?

Dutch gynecologist Gabie Raven became troubled by the increasing numbers of Germans crossing the border to get an abortion at her clinics in the Netherlands and decided to open a clinic in the western German city of Dortmund in November 2022.

She was immediately targeted by anti-abortion protestors, who called her a “baby murderer.” Her address and telephone number were quickly published on anti-abortion websites.

“There’s a Bible Belt here, just like in Holland, and they say they have no problems with abortion — but we all know that’s not true. It was really hard for us to find premises to lease, I think, because we wanted to perform abortions,” Raven says.

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