A new draft bill in Germany would introduce fines of up to €5,000 for peaceful expression on public streets near facilities that offer abortion.

The bill, announced last week by Germany’s Federal Family Minister Lisa Paus, who belongs to the Green party, would seek to create nationwide exclusion zones around the facilities, criminalising messages that could be subjectively understood as “disturbing” or “confusing,” with no legal clarity as to how those terms are to be interpreted.

Harassment is already fully illegal, independent of the proposed new law, which would target peaceful expression.

The proposed new law would, if enacted, be in direct contravention to a 2023 decision from the country’s top administrative court upholding the freedom of assembly across the street from an abortion facility. The ruling affirmed the rights of a pro-life activist who conducted silent prayer vigils on the public street in Pforzheim, Germany. Such an exercise of basic human rights would likely run afoul of the proposed new legislation.