Blanket bans against peaceful prayer gatherings near abortion organisations are impermissible, according to Germany’s highest administrative court [1].
The ruling by the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig upholding freedom of assembly comes even as Federal minister for Family Affairs Lisa Paus is planning to introduce exclusion zones around abortion facilities that would ban prayer vigils and offers of support.
“I’m truly relieved. Our prayers really help, as affected women have told us over and over. I am grateful that we can continue our prayer vigils. Every human life is precious and deserves protection,” said Pavica Vojnović, leader of a local prayer group after the decision was handed down.
In 2019, the city of Pforzheim banned the prayer group, despite the four-lane-wide road separating the group from the Pro Familia building. The city prohibited the group from praying within eye and earshot of an abortion organisation. Vojnović, the group’s leader, went to court to challenge the prohibition, arguing that it violated their right to freedom of assembly