Counter-demonstrations to the "March for Life" in Cologne and Berlin

For the first time, the "March for Life" took place in two cities at the same time: Thousands of people demonstrated against abortions and assisted suicide in Berlin and Cologne today. But there were also several counter-rallies.

With the "March for Life", the Bundesverband Lebensrecht (BVL) demonstrated against abortions in Berlin and Cologne. In both cities there were several counter-demonstrations, among others by an "Alliance for Sexual Self-Determination", to which the Greens, the Left Party and the Working Group of Social Democratic Women belong. According to the police, about 900 people took part in the march of the so-called pro-lifers in Berlin.

The counter-demonstration in Berlin for the right to abortion was attended by about 400 people, according to police. In Cologne, according to police, several hundred participants on both sides faced each other. The BVL is an association of 15 organisations. The motto of the "March for Life" was "Unique. Dare to live".

Several bishops at the March for Life

At the Berlin kick-off in front of the Brandenburg Gate, BVL Federal Chair Alexandra Maria Linder welcomed Berlin Archbishop Heiner Koch as well as Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer and Auxiliary Bishop Josef Graf, who had come from Regensburg with a larger group of demonstrators. Auxiliary Bishops Florian Wörner (Augsburg) and Matthias Heinrich (Berlin) were also among the participants.

The federal chairperson of the Christian Democrats for Life (CDL), Susanne Wenzel, and the chairperson of the  "Doctors for Life" association, Paul Cullen, spoke at the rally on Cologne's Heumarkt. Among the audience was also the Auxiliary Bishop of Cologne, Dominikus Schwaderlapp. The demonstration march was stalled by about the same number of counter-demonstrators.

Linder accused politicians of not being interested in the rising abortion figures. She criticised the fact that last year the Bundestag had lifted the so-called ban on advertising abortions, section 219 a in the penal code. Together with the declining counselling opportunities for pregnant women, this was "misogynistic", said the BVL federal chairwoman. She also warned against efforts to legally allow assisted suicide.

The director of the organisation "Schreeuw om Leven" (Cry for Life), Arthur Alderliesten, said that in the Netherlands the legally stipulated protection of unborn children "hardly plays a role in abortion practice". He called for a commitment to a Europe-wide "pro-life movement".

The founder and Executive Director of the Canadian Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, Alex Schadenberg, warned against a development like that in his country with regard to assisted suicide. Since the legalisation of assisted suicide, it is not only used in cases of unbearable suffering, but also in cases of loneliness or depression.

Counter-demonstrations "for a life without paternalism"

Participants in the Berlin counter-demonstrations demonstrated against this "for a life and love without paternalism". The right to abortion is repeatedly questioned and restricted, they said, for example at the "Action Day for Sexual Self-Determination". Christian fundamentalist and right-wing nationalist opponents of women's right to self-determination should not be allowed to take to the streets.

In Cologne, there were six counter-demonstrations and rallies against the procession of the "pro-lifers", called for by the association "Pro Choice", among others. According to the police, the demonstration and counter-protests proceeded without incident until the afternoon. The demonstration had started on Heumarkt, where both sides faced each other separately from the police. 

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