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Thousands protest in Cologne and Berlin: life or abortion?
On September 20, 2025, thousands demonstrated for and against abortion in Cologne and Berlin, supported by religious representatives.
Thousands protest in Cologne and Berlin: life or abortion?
On Saturday, September 20, 2025, large-scale demonstrations on the topic of abortion took place in Cologne and Berlin. These are organized under the motto “March for Life”. In Cologne, WDR estimated the number of participants at around 1,200, while the police in Berlin spoke of around 2,200 participants. A significant number of activists and supporters advocated different positions on this controversial issue. Domradio reports that the Federal Association for Life Rights (BVL) supported the event in Berlin and around 15 other organizations supported the call.
The Cologne protest march began at Neumarkt and was accompanied by a large police presence. Above all, the encounter with the opposing demonstrators, with an estimated 1,500 participants, posed a challenge. Similar to Berlin, where several hundred opponents called for the decriminalization of abortion, the Cologne counter-demonstration under the motto “Pro Choice” was well represented and surprisingly attracted more than 1,000 people World reports.
Protests and counter-demonstrations
The Berlin demonstration started at the main train station and also tried to set an example for the protection of life. Posters with slogans such as “Abortion is wrong” and “Human dignity knows no age” were omnipresent. However, there were also tensions in Berlin; A sit-in of 80 to 100 people was broken up by the police, while around 220 counter-demonstrators and around 2,000 participants were registered in two parallel counter-demonstrations.
In Cologne, the Archbishop of Cologne Rainer Maria Woelki supported the demonstrators in a greeting and spoke about the protection of life and respect for human dignity. The chairman of the German Bishops' Conference, Bishop Georg Bätzing, also addressed the participants and emphasized the importance of the topic. Loud Cathedral radio Abortions are fundamentally illegal in Germany, but can remain unpunished under certain conditions.
Legal framework and outlook
It should also be mentioned at this point: A bill to decriminalize abortions up to the twelfth week after consultation was recently introduced in the Bundestag. Such a project could have a lasting impact on the discussion about abortion in Germany. While participation in the demonstrations showed that the issue remains polarizing, it remains to be seen how the legislative framework will develop. Also Destatis provides information about the legal basis and changes in the health sector, some of which could also be related to this debate.