Attempting to offer a pregnant woman information and support to protect the life of her child carries a €250 fine according to a German court.
A woman has the right “to be left in peace by strangers who might speak to her on the street” according to a decision of the Administrative Court of Baden-Württemberg in Germany reported yesterday.
The court ruling upheld a ban keeping members of the Life Centre – Helpers of God’s Precious Infants in Germany from talking to women outside of the Pro Familia center in Freiburg which advises women on obtaining abortions.
Pro-lifers from the Life Centre reportedly showed women pictures of aborted fetuses, used fetal models, prayed the rosary, asked women to let their child live and even offered financial support to one woman to keep her baby.
“They are trying to exert emotional pressure,” said Friedrich Traub, manager of Freiburg Pro Familia.
The court agreed with Traub, saying that most women in the early stage of pregnancy are in a particular psychological state in which “difficult conflict situations can emerge” – which apparently means that a woman knowing both sides of the abortion debate is too much to handle.
A new report on the emotional state of women after an abortion from the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute suggests that women who “felt empowered to make the decision independently” on whether or not to have an abortion had more positive post-abortion emotional experiences. When making such an important decision as whether or not to end the life of her child, one would think a woman would want the greatest amount of information as possible to make that decision. However, laws that require doctors to do pre-abortion ultrasounds, sonograms, play audio of the fetal heartbeat, allow for a waiting period, etc. are all described as instruments of harassment by the anti-life crowd instead of helping women to make informed decisions. Such restraint on relevant information doesn’t leave room for much “choice.”
Apparently the only information a woman needs when considering an abortion is the propaganda that comes from those who profit from the abortion, despite the fact that undercover videos of abortion providers have repeatedly shown them engaging in misleading and unlawful practices.
The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down bans similar to the one Germany’s court upheld as being violations of free speech. Pro-lifers in Germany must continue to fight for the same freedom.
LifeNews.com Note: Reprinted with permission from Human Life International’s World Watch forum. Adam Cassandra is a Communications Specialist at Human Life International.
