Germany cracks down on ‘pro-life’ protests

Protests outside abortion clinics and family planning centers are to be banned in Germany. Reproductive rights advocates have long pointed to the influence of US money and tactics on the anti-abortion movement in Europe.

Helen Whittle
Jan 24, 2024

Family Minister Lisa Paus (Green Party) announced on January 24 a draft law to prevent demonstrators from approaching or harassing visitors within a 100-meter (320 ft) radius of abortion clinics and family planning centers. Posters or flyers aimed at intimidating women will also be banned. Anyone violating the ban could be punished with a fine of up to €5,000 ($5,445).

Paus said that it was important that women were able to receive good advice in such difficult situations without being confronted with "hatred and agitation." "That's why we are striking a balance between freedom of expression and the right of assembly," Paus told German public broadcaster ZDF.

Continued: https://www.dw.com/en/germany-cracks-down-on-pro-life-protests/a-64877764

German abortion clinics targeted by US-style protests

Protests outside abortion clinics and family planning centers are underway in Germany. Reproductive rights advocates point to the influence of US money and tactics on the anti-abortion movement in Germany and Europe.

Helen Whittle
Mar 4, 2023

In the early afternoon on a gray and windy Friday in February, a dozen protesters from EuroProLife slowly began to appear opposite the Pro Familia family planning advice and counseling center in Frankfurt's Westend.

Clutching hymn sheets and rosaries, they chanted the Hail Mary prayer. Some held placards bearing images of smiling babies or a tiny clenched fist with the slogans "Unborn Lives Matter" and "Abortion Is Not a Solution."

Continued: https://www.dw.com/en/german-abortion-clinics-targeted-by-us-style-protests/a-64877764

As millions were stripped of abortion rights, mainstream outlets uplifted these five anti-choice leaders behind Roe’s reversal

WRITTEN BY JASMINE GEONZON
PUBLISHED 01/09/23

2022 marked an unprecedented assault on abortion rights, as the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June and multiple states quickly moved to restrict or outright ban abortion and other reproductive care. While millions of Americans navigated under these new harsh abortion restrictions, the largest newsrooms in the country gave their platforms to the leading figures behind the effort to reverse Roe and demonize abortion care.

Marjorie Dannenfelser (Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America)
As the president of anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, Marjorie Dannenfelser has been key in backing anti-choice political candidates and supporting the passage of legal restrictions against reproductive rights. Late last year, for example, Dannenfelser stood alongside Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) when he introduced legislation to implement a 15-week national abortion ban.

Continued; https://www.mediamatters.org/health-care/millions-were-stripped-abortion-rights-mainstream-outlets-uplifted-these-five-anti

USA – Liberal Cities Are Not Immune to Mounting Attacks on Abortion Rights

BY Emily Janakiram & Katie Finnigan, Truthout
April 16, 2022

An anti-abortion group that masquerades as progressive in an attempt to gain a following in liberal cities suddenly surged into mainstream news headlines this spring after the Washington Metro Police Department recovered five fetuses from the apartment of anti-abortion activist Lauren Handy.

Handy is a member of the group “Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising” (PAAU), which announced its formation in September 2021. The group claims to be “pro-BIPOC” and “pro-LGBTQ,” but in practice, the group’s actions align with a violent, right-wing anti-abortion tradition.

Continued: https://truthout.org/articles/liberal-cities-are-not-immune-to-mounting-attacks-on-abortion-rights/

USA – Medical waste company denies giving fetuses to antiabortion activists

D.C. police say they are still working to determine how the fetuses were obtained and whether any laws were broken

By Michelle Boorstein, Peter Hermann and Marissa J. Lang, Washington Post
April 5, 2022

Antiabortion activists said Tuesday they obtained five fetuses from a medical waste disposal driver who was outside a Washington abortion clinic, an assertion the waste disposal company denies.

Plainclothes officers removed the fetuses from a Southeast apartment where one of the activists was staying. D.C. police are still working to determine how the fetuses were obtained and whether any laws were broken.

Continued: https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/04/05/lauren-handy-abortion-dc/

USA – 5 Fetuses Removed From Home of Anti-Abortion Activist, Group Says

The police said they had gone to a home in Washington to investigate a tip about “potential biohazard material” when officers found the fetuses inside. An investigation was continuing.

By Michael Levenson
Published March 31, 2022

The police said on Thursday that five fetuses had been removed from a home in Washington that, according to an anti-abortion group, belonged to an activist who was charged by the Justice Department this week with blocking access to an abortion clinic in October 2020.

The Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia would release only the address where the fetuses were found. Terrisa Bukovinac, the founder and executive director of Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising, confirmed that the home belonged to Lauren Handy, 28, the group’s director of activism, who was arrested and charged with federal civil rights offenses this week.

Continued: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/31/us/fetus-anti-abortion-home.html