The back and forth about a “prayer vigil” by anti-abortionists has come to an end for the time being.
In the last instance, the Hessian Administrative Court in Kassel ruled on Friday: The demonstration in front of the Pro Familia counseling center in Frankfurt may take place opposite the counseling center.
The decision was preceded by a long legal dispute.
An association had registered a 40-day prayer vigil for Lent in January.
The city of Frankfurt had decreed in February that this is only permitted outside the opening hours in front of the building;
during opening hours, the meeting should be carried out at a greater distance.
The administrative court in Frankfurt classified these conditions as illegal on March 1st.
The court argued that there was no protection against confrontation with different opinions.
The city of Frankfurt lodged an appeal with the Administrative Court (VGH).
The complaint was then rejected.
The VGH ruled that the fundamental right to freedom of assembly also includes the free choice of the place of assembly.
The opponents of abortion should therefore be on the other side of the plateau in front of the counseling center.
The participants in the meeting had voluntarily withdrawn to this area.
The place is more than 30 meters from the entrance, with bushes, trees and parked vehicles in between.
In this way, the privacy of pregnant women is adequately protected, the court argued.
The rosary prayers and liturgical chants are "embedded in a background noise" that includes a meter-high water fountain and traffic noise, and can therefore hardly be heard in front of the building.
This does not interfere with the pregnant women's personal rights.
That would only be the case if a gathering were held so close to the entrance "that those attending the gathering could look straight in the face of the pregnant women" and expose them to their slogans at close range.