Abortion law: Traffic light wants to completely delete paragraph 219a - Union is opposed

Created: 05/13/2022, 10:39 am

The Bundestag will discuss a draft law on abortion on Friday.

The traffic light coalition wants to abolish the controversial Paragraph 219a.

Strong headwind comes from the Union.

Berlin - An explosive topic will be debated on Friday (May 13) in the Bundestag: From 11.30 a.m., MPs will discuss the traffic light coalition's draft law to abolish paragraph 219a.

This regulates the so-called advertising ban for abortions.

With the deletion of the paragraph from the penal code, the coalition under Chancellor Olaf Scholz wants to achieve, among other things, that doctors in Germany no longer have to expect criminal prosecution if they publicly inform about abortions.

Judgments made on the basis of the paragraph should be overturned.

Bundestag advises on abortions: Reform already in 2019 - but little has changed

Due to the so-called advertising ban, practices and clinics in Germany have so far been prohibited from providing detailed information about the different methods of abortion.

There was already a change in the law in 2019: since then, doctors have been allowed to point out that they carry out the procedure in principle.

But for additional information, such as price and method, they still have to refer to official bodies.

A Giessen doctor was still fined after the law was changed in 2019 because she had published further information about abortions on her website.

Paragraph 219a should now be completely deleted according to the will of the Federal Government.

"We want to end an untenable legal situation," said Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP) in January when the draft law was presented.

It cannot be that everyone is allowed to put everything on the subject on the Internet - but not experts of all people.

Traffic light government wants to abolish paragraph 219a - Union is strictly against it

The parliamentary group of CDU and CSU in the Bundestag firmly rejects the planned abolition of the advertising ban.

With its own application, the Union wants to ensure that Paragraph 219a remains in place.

An abortion is "not the same as a cosmetic procedure," warned the deputy parliamentary group leader Andrea Lindholz (CSU).

"The protected good of the unborn life" should always be taken into account.

Lindholz emphasized that the group is instead committed to better advice for women affected.

For example, counseling centers should hand out material to women who are considering abortion, Lindholz explained.

However, your parliamentary group considers it "important and indispensable" that women in this situation "always go to counseling centers first" and do not primarily seek advice from the doctors, who may then also perform the abortion.

Paragraph 219a ensures that this separation remains, Lindholz explained.

Bundestag advises on abortions: Green parliamentary group leader considers the law to be outdated

In the run-up to the consultations on Friday (May 13), Greens parliamentary group leader Britta Haßelmann said that the so-called advertising ban for abortions was "out of date".

A reform is a "step that is overdue in terms of women's and social policy".

Access to good advice is a core element of self-determination over one's own body.

Green party leader Britta Hasselmann

Aborting is never an easy or careless decision.

"In such a situation, access to good advice and information is not just a fundamental right, but a core element of self-determination over one's own body," said Hasselmann.

This also helps women to find a suitable doctor for the procedure more easily.

Bundestag advises on abortions: Certain forms of advertising should remain prohibited

The deputy chairman of the SPD parliamentary group, Dirk Wiese, also emphasized the importance of the project.

“The treating physicians are the most important contacts for the women and families affected.

The threat of criminal liability for specialist staff is the wrong way to go," said Wiese of the dpa.

The SPD MP pointed out that "misleading or repulsive advertising for all types of abortions will continue to be prohibited" in the future.

The coalition wants to achieve this by amending the Medicines Advertising Act, which regulates misleading advertising for medical products.

In the future, it will also record abortions that are not medically advised.

Bundestag advises on abortion law: traffic light coalition disagrees on paragraph 218

On the other hand, the traffic light is undecided on a second controversial paragraph: paragraph 218. This criminalizes abortions as a matter of principle.

Under certain conditions, however, an abortion remains unpunished.

It is still unclear whether the regulation will remain in place.

The coalition agreement states that a commission should examine “regulations for abortion outside of the penal code”.

• Currently, an abortion is only exempt from punishment if the woman seeks advice from a state-recognized body beforehand.

  It must be performed by a doctor who was not involved in the counseling and must take place within the first twelve weeks of conception.

• Exceptions also apply if the health of the pregnant woman is threatened and after a rape.

  In the case of an abortion within 22 weeks after conception after prior counseling, the pregnant woman is not liable to prosecution, but other parties involved, such as the doctor, are.

Bundestag wants to reform the abortion law: the Federal Constitutional Court has already put the brakes on twice

In Germany, abortion was included in the penal code as early as 1871.

From the 1970s, the federal government tried twice to fundamentally reform the abortion law, but was slowed down by the Federal Constitutional Court each time.

In the GDR, the deadline solution has been in effect since 1972: there, women decide for themselves in the first twelve weeks of a pregnancy whether they want to continue.

In 1974, the Bundestag also decided on a time limit for the first twelve weeks, which the constitutional court overturned a little later.

Karlsruhe placed “life developing in the womb” under the protection of the constitution and gave it “priority over the pregnant woman’s right to self-determination”.

However, the judges did not agree.

Bundestag advises on abortions: So far, intervention is only exempt from punishment in certain cases

In response to the verdict, the legislature passed a new regulation in 1976, according to which abortions could only remain unpunished in certain emergencies, such as after rape or if the pregnant woman was in danger - the so-called indication solution.

After reunification, politicians decided in 1992 to set a deadline after deliberation, which was overturned again by the constitutional court.

This decided that the legislature had to prohibit abortion as a matter of principle and that the pregnant woman had to have a basic obligation to carry the child to term.

As a result, the compromise that is still valid today was worked out.