LKH Bregenz

Ban on anti-abortion activists demanded

A no-go zone around Bregenz state hospital is difficult to implement.

(Bild: Mathis Fotografie)

Opponents of abortion gather three times a week in front of Bregenz State Hospital. The hospital now wants a protection zone. However, implementation is hardly feasible given the current legal situation.

The debate about abortions in Vorarlberg shows no sign of abating and the tone is rough. At the center of the uproar: the state hospital in Bregenz, where abortions have been available as a private service for several months - after the retirement of the only private doctor in the state offering such a service, an alternative solution had become necessary.

Meetings are an enormous burden
However, this arrangement is a thorn in the side of abortion opponents. Three times a week, the self-proclaimed "pro-lifers" gather to demonstrate on the sidewalk directly in front of the hospital. These gatherings are an enormous nuisance for the patients concerned, and the hospital staff are also annoyed by them.

A hedge was planted to create at least a little privacy. However, this did little good, as the demonstrators simply extended their signs and placards. For Michael Rohde, head of the gynecology department, the limits of what is tolerable have been exceeded and he is calling for the establishment of a no-go zone in front of the hospital: "We believe the only solution is for there to be such a regulation," Rohde told ORF Vorarlberg. This request had already been submitted to politicians.

Change in the law
However, due to the current legal situation, it is practically impossible to set up such protection zones, especially as the right of assembly is a high value in Austria. Consequently, the federal government would have to decide on an amendment to the law, whereby an encroachment on fundamental rights would have to be very well argued.

The state hospital in Bregenz is aware of the difficult situation - and is therefore looking to neighboring Germany as a role model. There, opponents of abortion will have to pay heavy fines in future if they harass people outside a clinic. The hospital management in Bregenz is now hoping that this example will also set a precedent in Austria.