The legal dispute between chief physician Joachim Volz and the Christian Hospital Lippstadt is entering the next round. Before the appeal hearing on February 5 at the Hamm Regional Labor Court, a demonstration against the Catholic abortion ban is planned. It begins at 10 a.m. with a rally on the market square in Hamm and ends with a final rally in front of the court.

The case of the Lippstadt chief physician Volz, who was prohibited by the Catholic-Protestant clinic operator from medically indicated abortions, has revived the debate about the legal regulation of abortions in Germany. Volz’s petition was signed around 300,000 times. The demonstration for the court hearing on August 8, 2025 attracted media attention.

The demonstration is intended to increase the pressure on politicians. According to Volz, religious dogmas must not determine medical practice. Church sponsors would not invest a cent in the operation of the hospitals, which are fully supported by public subsidies and health insurance companies. The SPD parliamentary group plans to oblige denominational clinics to perform abortions.

The use of church labor law to prevent indicated abortions is considered a medical-ethical scandal. Such abortions are the core task of perinatal centers, for example in the case of severe malformations of the fetus. A medical opinion in the appeal proceedings underlines that medical action is not a modular system of prohibited activities. Bans destroy responsible, patient-centered medicine and contradict ethics and legal will.

The Giordano Bruno Foundation and other organizations are calling for a demonstration. It is about rights of self-determination, free access to medical services and against religious bans in public health care. Speeches will be given by Joachim Volz, Kristina Hänel, Michael Schmidt-Salomon and Ricarda Lang. The foundation designed the poster and offers suggestions for demo signs on its website.

Read more:

“Medicine is not a matter of faith” | Giordano Bruno Foundation

Editor: X-Press Journalistenbüro GbR

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