Berlin.
Actually, the coalition wanted to make abortions easier. But there is a dispute about the way. Experts should now advise on this.
In small steps, the traffic light federal government is improving the health situation of women in Germany: In July last year, this was advertising ban for abortions tilted. Since then, pregnant women have been able to obtain information about the methods directly from doctors’ websites.
A spokeswoman for the German Society for Family Planning, Sex Education and Sex Counseling Pro Familia said why this is so important: “Because the abortion has to take place in a tight time frame, it is very important for planning to have this information available early on, especially if it turns out that the next practice or clinic is far away.”
In many places, women drive 100 kilometers to get an abortion
In addition to travel and appointments, women often have to organize their absence from work and from their families. “As a result of that doctors can now provide information themselves on their websites, the risk for pregnant women of ending up on dubious websites is also reduced,” said the spokeswoman for Pro Familia. Also read: Paragraph 218: Why abortions could soon be legal
As part of the abolition of Paragraph 219, which deals with advice on abortions, there has been one since the end of January medical guideline to this topic. It summarizes the specialist knowledge of abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy. It is shown
- how a demolition should be performed safely;
- what follow-up care is needed;
- how best to advise women.
The authors of the paper note that there is insufficient data to evaluate the different termination methods and overall too little research gives. However, that is not surprising: “In some other countries, medical abortion is more widespread, and Germany is lagging behind,” said the coordinator of the guideline, Matthias David (). In a European comparison of abortion rates, Germany occupies one of the lower places.
More abortions: Rand 26,500 abortions in the third quarter of 2022
In the third quarter of 2022 around 26,500 abortions reported in Germany. This is an increase of 16.7 percent compared to the same quarter of the previous year. According to Pro Familia, one possible explanation for this is that the population in Germany in 2022 has grown significantly faster than in previous years, among other things due to over one million refugees. Actually, the number of abortions has been declining for years: In 2010, 110,431 abortions were carried out, eleven years later there were only 94,596.
SPD, Greens and FDP are examining how abortion could be regulated if Paragraph 218 were to be removed from the penal code. Federal Family Minister Lisa Paus (Greens) announced this in an interview with our editors. Paus demanded with it a general impunity in abortions. Abortion is currently considered a criminal offence, but it remains unpunished under certain conditions.
Doctors and lawyers are examining the legal framework for abortions
A commission of experts made up of lawyers and physicians is to examine whether there is a constitutional model could give. It would have to adequately protect unborn life, but do without the penal code. They are also asked to evaluate options for legalizing egg donation and altruistic surrogacy. The governing parties had already agreed on the commission in the coalition agreement. However, the panel of experts has not yet met. also read: These are the bizarre consequences of abortion bans in the United States
So the federal government is not making any progress with its decision either. Because Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann wants to wait for the vote of an expert commission: “The commission will start its work before Easter”, the FDP politician told our editorial team. The goal is to have a result within a year.
However, this does not automatically mean that abortions in Germany will still be allowed in this legislative period no more crime are. “If the commission finds a solution, we will look at it carefully and then make a political decision,” Buschmann describes the further procedure. “We shouldn’t make the mistake of giving the commission a result.”
Women often perceive abortion as a stigma
Why does the German Society for Family Planning, among others, consider the abolition of paragraph 218 to be crucial? The decriminalization will lead to an end to the stigma surrounding abortion, a spokeswoman for Pro Familia said. There are currently serious supply bottlenecks in a number of parts of the country. There is often not a gynecologist within a radius of 100 kilometers who will perform abortions.
Already in December 2022 the German Women Lawyers Association worked out in a paper what an alternative to the current regulations for abortions could look like. In it, they propose a regulation in the Pregnancy Conflict Act, with a longer period for the termination than before, based on the point in time at which a fetus is capable of living independently. According to the current state of medicine, that would be in the 22nd week at the earliest. According to the concept of the association, there would be no consequences for the pregnant person even if the abortion occurred after this point in time.
The current legal situation is based on the case law of the Federal Constitutional Court and is therefore also binding on the legislature, Buschmann warned. Of course, Paus could express her opinion on this. “It worries me though that through public predeterminationswhat one wishes for as a result of the commission, which does not feel free in its work,” criticized Buschmann. Although the traffic light is fundamentally in agreement on the will to bring about social change, each ministry has its own pace.
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