{"id":189145,"date":"2018-09-30T06:45:45","date_gmt":"2018-09-30T11:45:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=189145"},"modified":"2018-09-29T22:05:03","modified_gmt":"2018-09-30T03:05:03","slug":"european-court-censoring-pro-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/european-court-censoring-pro-life\/","title":{"rendered":"European Court of Human Rights: Censoring pro-life speech ‘necessary’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The European Court of Human Rights ruled in September to censor German pro-life activist Klaus Guenter Annen. According to the Associated Press<\/a>, the ruling came after Annen argued that his freedom of expression was restricted by four injunctions forbidding him from referring to abortions as \u201caggravated murder\u201d and comparing abortion to the Holocaust.<\/p>\n

Disturbingly, the court ruling acknowledged<\/a> that the injunctions did<\/em>, in fact, limit Annen\u2019s freedom of expression, but stunningly stated that the injunctions against his free speech were \u201cnecessary in a democratic society.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the court, Annen\u2019s speech referring to abortion as murder and comparing it to the Holocaust \u201chad not only been very serious but might also have incited hatred and aggression.\u201d The court, however, did not offer any examples of instances of violence allegedly incited by Annen’s speech.<\/p>\n

READ: Irish politicians push for free abortions, but not free speech<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Annen\u2019s choice of words, while potentially disturbing, reflects reality, and banning it is unjust. Abortion ends a human life, and, therefore, could understandably be described as murder. Former abortionist, Dr. Anthony Levatino, describes the violent dismemberment of a living child that occurs in an abortion procedure:<\/p>\n