Austria: Thousands of peaceful pro-lifers march as aggressive protesters kept back by police

As thousands of pro-lifers walked through the centre of Vienna in this year’s March For Life, the police had to step in numerous times to prevent highly aggressive protesters from disrupting the peaceful march.

Last weekend, on Saturday 16 October, 2,500 pro-lifers attended the March for Life in Vienna and found themselves hounded by aggressive pro-abortion protesters along their planned route.

The March for Life was blocked from walking down Kärntnerstraße, one of the central shopping streets in Vienna, by protesters who screamed obscenities whilst beating drums and holding smoke flares. After diverting down a side-street to avoid a confrontation, the marchers quickly found they had been penned in front and back by the protesters.

Those on the March For Life remained undeterred, however, as some pro-lifers even improvised pro-life songs to the beat of the protesters’ drums. Fortunately, the police cleared the way and kept the pro-abortion protesters away from the pro-life March even when the protesters started walking towards them en masse.

Despite the disruption, speakers at the March, Belinda Schmölzer from Pro Life Europe and Stephan Groicher from Jugend für das Leben (Youth for Life), emphasised the importance of meeting the women who have chosen to have an abortion with love and care.

This year, the focus of the March was on euthanasia, which is set to be made legal in Austria in 2022.

Speakers at the March For Life discussed the experience of other countries that have already made assisted suicide and/or euthanasia legal.

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