{"id":1959964,"date":"2023-06-29T03:09:02","date_gmt":"2023-06-29T07:09:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/german-court-says-pro-lifers-can-still-pray-outside-abortion-mills-for-now\/"},"modified":"2023-06-29T03:11:55","modified_gmt":"2023-06-29T07:11:55","slug":"german-court-says-pro-lifers-can-still-pray-outside-abortion-mills-for-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/german-court-says-pro-lifers-can-still-pray-outside-abortion-mills-for-now\/","title":{"rendered":"German court allows pro-lifers to pray near abortion clinics, temporarily."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fgerman-court-says-pro-lifers-can-still-pray-outside-abortion-mills-for-now%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1959964&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<h2>Victory for Freedom of Assembly in Germany<\/h2>\n<p>In March of this year, the United Kingdom notoriously became the first Western democracy to go so far as to <a href=\"https:\/\/adf.uk\/parliament-introduces-thought-crime\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ban<\/a> even <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-court-to-review-case-of-high-school-football-coach-fired-for-postgame-prayers\/\" title=\"Supreme Court To Review Case Of High School Football Coach Fired For Postgame Prayers\">silent prayer<\/a> in the name of abortion \u201crights\u201d across all of England and Wales. Scotland is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?client=safari&#038;rls=en&#038;q=scotland+buffer+zones&#038;tbm=nws&#038;sa=X&#038;ved=2ahUKEwiusIGaxNn_AhXuD1kFHYhyCqkQ0pQJegQICxAB&#038;biw=1280&#038;bih=672&#038;dpr=2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">considering<\/a> a similar move. The German government has repeatedly indicated the same.<\/p>\n<p>However, on June 20, a top court in Germany <a href=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/german-court-upholds-freedom-of-assembly\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ruled<\/a> that the government cannot impose blanket bans on peaceful prayer gatherings outside abortion facilities. The significance of this ruling is momentous; it comes at the same time the German federal government is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/german-family-minister-takes-on-anti-abortion-activists\/a-64801022\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">attempting<\/a> to introduce a nationwide ban on prayer and pro-life gatherings around all abortion facilities. However, in light of last week\u2019s ruling, Germany will now have to think twice before moving forward with the intended introduction of \u201ccensorship zones\u201d across the country.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>This is a win for all in Germany who desire to exercise the right to peacefully pray and gather without fear of government punishment.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/pavica\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">story<\/a> goes as follows: Twice a year, members of the pro-life group 40 Days for Life would gather in front of an abortion facility in the city of Pforzheim to hold a silent prayer vigil. Pro Familia \u2014 the German partner of Planned Parenthood \u2014 complained, which led the city to ban the group from praying across the street from the facility in 2019.<\/p>\n<p>In August 2022, a lower court <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/2022\/09\/a-pro-life-win-in-germany-vindicates-more-than-just-the-right-to-free-expression\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ruled<\/a> in favor of the right to peaceful assembly. And now, the Federal Administrative Court has upheld the group\u2019s fundamental human right to gather peacefully \u2014 affirming the importance of free speech and free assembly as the pillars of a \u201cfree democratic state order.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Both the freedom to assemble and the right to express one\u2019s convictions are cornerstones of a democratic society. But these rights increasingly are threatened across the world. What we are seeing is a global trend to censor expressions that challenge the prevailing orthodoxy. We live in a time when expressions of dissent, no matter how peaceful, are all too often met with the repressive force of the state.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Proponents of prayer bans often <a href=\"https:\/\/www.backoffscotland.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">invoke<\/a> the protection of women as the leading impetus for their crusade. However, it is duplicitous and misleading to cloak these repressive acts of censorship in the name of women\u2019s rights and with the argument that even silent prayer constitutes harassment or intimidation toward women seeking an abortion.<\/p>\n<p>As is the norm in Western democracies, harassment of women is already <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gesetze-im-internet.de\/stgb\/__240.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">punishable<\/a> by law in Germany. It therefore can and should be handled according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/german-court-says-pro-lifers-can-still-pray-outside-abortion-mills-for-now\/\" title=\"German court allows pro-lifers to pray near abortion clinics, temporarily.\">real laws protecting women<\/a>. But the simple act of peaceful prayer \u2014 such as that displayed by the 40 Days for Life group in Pforzheim \u2014 is no crime.<\/p>\n<p>Germany\u2019s current government also has <a href=\"https:\/\/cne.news\/article\/2356-german-family-minister-wants-to-remove-abortion-from-criminal-code\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">pledged<\/a> to decriminalize abortion, which is currently broadly illegal in the country but remains widely available in certain cases or if conditions of mandatory counseling are met before 12 weeks of pregnancy. This potential decriminalization of the practice \u2014 and its ensuing <a href=\"https:\/\/calumsblog.com\/2022\/02\/10\/how-to-reduce-the-abortion-rate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">consequences<\/a> for unborn life \u2014 only further affirm the need to resolutely defend our rights of conscience.<\/p>\n<p>And the importance of preserving these rights extends beyond Pforzheim. We have seen similar <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/12\/09\/is-the-abortion-escort-who-went-after-pro-lifer-mark-houck-the-real-face-act-violator-court-filing-suggests-yes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">events<\/a> unfold in the U.S. among peaceful advocates of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/covid-has-killed-her-hundreds-of-thousands-but-abortion-has-killed-her-tens-of-millions\/\" title=\"COVID Has Killed Her Hundreds of Thousands, But Abortion Has Killed Her Tens of Millions\">pro-life movement<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Thankfully, reason has prevailed over ideology in the German judiciary for now. This will hopefully send a deterrent signal to the government\u2019s ambition to ban prayer and offers of help for women in difficult situations.<\/p>\n<p>All people have the right to peacefully express their convictions \u2014 to gather together in the pursuit of a more just world. Let us celebrate the German court\u2019s recognition of these <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/senate-republicans-call-for-moving-olympics-from-china-citing-genocide\/\" title=\"Senate Republicans Call For Moving Olympics From China, Citing Genocide\">fundamental human rights<\/a> and pray that the <strong>right<\/strong> to pray be protected everywhere.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In March, the UK made headlines as the first Western democracy to ban silent prayer for abortion rights in England and Wales. Scotland is also contemplating a similar action, while the German government has expressed similar intentions. However, on June 20, a significant development occurred.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1555,"featured_media":1959965,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1959964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1959964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1555"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1959964"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1959964\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1959965"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1959964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1959964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1959964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}