If a minor wants to abort, the consent of their parent or guardian is not necessary. This has been decided by the Higher Regional Court of Hamm, according to a spokesman.
The specific case involved a 16-year-old who wanted to stop her pregnancy. Her parents did not agree, the spokesman said. The father had agreed to the abortion, the mother was not. The teenager then wanted to legally establish that the consent of her parents was not required.
In the first instance, the adolescent failed with her application to a district court before the Higher Regional Court gave her the right. It had been established that the young person was able to consent, it was said by the court. It is therefore in a position to recognize, judge and act upon the scope of its decision. Also in the future the individual case must be examined, said the speaker.
The question of how minors are allowed to decide on an abortion is a matter of legal controversy in Germany. Lawyer Oliver Tolmein, who represented the 16-year-old in the current case, described the decision, according to taz, who had first reported it, as "the expression of a modern medical law."