Christdemokraten für das Leben

Christdemokraten für das Leben (CDL) is a nationwide German pro-life initiative founded in 1985 by members of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU). With more than 5,000 members, including numerous Bundestag and state parliament deputies, it is part of the Lebensrechtsbewegung (right-to-life movement) and is committed to a Christian understanding of humanity. Its federal office is located in Nordwalde near Münster. The CDL focuses primarily on the issue of abortion and engages with contemporary bioethical questions such as preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PID), assisted suicide, post-abortion syndrome, family policy, and medical or reproductive cloning. It advocates unrestricted protection of human embryos, particularly against interventions motivated by medical, parental, or scientific interests. The organization describes itself as committed to the Christian image of man. At both federal and European levels, the CDL cooperates with other organizations in the right-to-life movement and is part of the Bundesverband Lebensrecht. It served as organizer of the "Marsch für das Leben" in Annaberg-Buchholz until 2016, when the sponsoring association "Lebensrecht Sachsen" was founded by the organizers. Although the CDL was a special organization of the Union parties, membership is open to non-party individuals. Members are informed several times a year by post through the membership newspaper CDL Aktuell, and a right-to-life newsletter also exists. Membership fees may be levied according to the statutes, but are currently voluntary. On 27 August 2018, the CDU presidium and federal executive withdrew the status of special organizations of the party from both the Christdemokraten für das Leben and the Wirtschaftsrat der CDU. The CDL continues its work as an independent association, publishing position papers and statements, such as its detailed commentary on the coalition agreement between CDU/CSU and SPD regarding abortion policy.

Christdemokraten für das Leben (CDL) was founded in 1985 by members of the Union parties (CDU/CSU) who advocated unrestricted protection of human embryos, particularly against interventions motivated by medical, parental, or scientific interests. The founding chairwoman was Johanna Gräfin von Westphalen (1936–2016). The organization grew into a nationwide initiative with over 5,000 members, including numerous Bundestag and state parliament deputies, and maintained close ties to the CDU/CSU as a special organization of the party. The CDL focuses primarily on the issue of abortion and engages with current bioethical questions such as preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PID), assisted suicide, post-abortion syndrome, family policy, and medical or reproductive cloning. It sees itself as committed to the Christian image of man and is part of the Lebensrechtsbewegung (right-to-life movement). At federal and European levels, it cooperates with other right-to-life organizations and is part of the Bundesverband Lebensrecht. The CDL served as organizer of the "Marsch für das Leben" in Annaberg-Buchholz until 2016, when the sponsoring association "Lebensrecht Sachsen" was founded by the organizers. Members are informed several times a year by post through the membership newspaper CDL Aktuell, and a right-to-life newsletter also exists. Membership fees may be levied according to the statutes, but are currently voluntary. On 27 August 2018, the CDU presidium and federal executive withdrew the status of special organizations of the party from both the Christdemokraten für das Leben and the Wirtschaftsrat der CDU. Despite this, the CDL continues its advocacy work, publishing position papers and statements, such as its detailed commentary on the coalition agreement between CDU/CSU and SPD regarding abortion policy. The federal office is located in Nordwalde near Münster.

• 2018

  On 27 August, the CDU presidium and federal executive withdrew the status of special organizations from CDL and the Wirtschaftsrat der CDU.

• 2016

  Organizer of the "Marsch für das Leben" in Annaberg-Buchholz until the sponsoring association "Lebensrecht Sachsen" was founded.

• 1985

  CDL founded by members of the Union parties.

Christian pro-life advocacy organization close to the CDU/CSU, focused on the protection of human life from conception to natural death.

1. 1CDL-Online - Herzlich Willkommen!cdl-online.net
2. 2Christdemokraten für das Leben - Wikipediade.wikipedia.org
3. 3Wikidata entry Q1078260wikidata.org