Overview

• On August 8, the Labour Court in Hamm dismissed Dr. Joachim Volz’s challenge and confirmed that Klinikum Lippstadt may lawfully bar medically indicated abortions.
• Since February, the merged Catholic‐led Klinikum Lippstadt has forbidden abortions except when a pregnant woman’s life is at risk, extending the ban to Volz’s private practice in Bielefeld.
• Volz immediately announced plans to take the case to a higher court and has rallied public support through an online petition that has drawn over 230,000 signatures.
• Around 2,000 protesters marched in Lippstadt under the banner “Stoppt das katholische Abtreibungsverbot” on the day of the hearing to oppose the directive.
• German law decriminalizes abortions up to 12 weeks after counselling and allows medically necessary terminations, but religious hospitals retain directorial rights that can restrict those services.