(LifeSiteNews) — Courts in Austria and Germany have ruled that pro-life vigils near abortion clinics must not be banned.

In Germany, the Aachen Administrative Court ruled that it was unlawful for the authorities to ban a prayer vigil in front of an abortion clinic in December 2024. The organization “Helpers for God’s Forgotten Children Germany” has organized monthly prayer vigils since 2005 in front of an abortion clinic. The pro-lifers usually carry images of Jesus, Mary, and small plastic fetuses. When the association applied to the relevant authorities for the monthly prayer vigil in December 2024, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia prohibited the group from holding it and assigned it a different location.

The group filed a complaint to the Administrative Court, which ruled that the state authorities were wrong to ban the vigil.

The presiding judge stated in his oral reasoning: “In assessing whether the state’s restriction of the prayer vigil’s location was justified, the fundamental rights of the assembly participants must also be taken into account. Neither do the provisions of the Pregnancy Conflict Act generally prohibit the expression of opinion nor the confrontation of pregnant women with the opinions of the assembly participants.”

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The German government introduced new restrictions on pro-life activism in front of abortion clinics in early 2024. As pro-life lawyer Tomislav Cunovic told LifeSiteNews at the time, the law did not restrict anything that was not already illegal, since harassment had been criminal in Germany before. However, the law was clearly meant as “psychological warfare” against pro-lifers in order to dissuade them from holding vigils in front of abortion mills.

In Austria, the Vienna Administrative Court ruled in favor of the group “Jugend für das Leben” (JfL, Youth for Life) after authorities had denied them permission to hold a prayer vigil near an abortion clinic in August 2025.

The stated purpose of the assembly was: “Silent, peaceful prayer for the protection, dignity, and preservation of human life.”

“The Vienna Administrative Court has clearly established that peaceful prayer constitutes an assembly protected by the Constitution. Freedom of assembly and freedom of expression ensure that committed, peaceful voices advocating for the protection of human life may also find public expression,” explained Felix Böllmann, head of the European Legal Department at ADF International.

The Austrian parliament is currently debating whether or not to introduce so-called “buffer zones” around abortion clinics like those in the U.K. The proposed law, similar to the one introduced in Germany, is based on the assumption that pro-lifers would harass women who are seeking an abortion. However, the proponents of these laws in Germany and Austria were unable to show a single documented incident of harassment by pro-lifers against women. On the other hand, there have been numerous cases of peaceful pro-lifers being physically attacked by radical pro-abortion activists while peacefully praying in public.

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