It has been a year since the 18 members of the “Commission for self-determination in matters of reproduction and reproductive medicine” – set up by the ruling coalition – have been discussing a possible reform of the legal texts that govern currently voluntary terminations of pregnancy (IVG). Finally, the decision made by the doctors and specialists in law and ethics gathered within the commission set up by Olaf Scholz is unequivocal: women should be authorized to abort during the first twelve weeks of their pregnancy.
The working group on abortion announced its conclusions on April 8, announcing that it recommended legalizing abortions performed during the first twelve weeks of gestation, although these are until now considered illegal. under Section 218 of the German Criminal Code. Indeed, the latter provides that “anyone who terminates a pregnancy will be punished by imprisonment of up to three years or a fine”, then specifies: “Abortions are not considered as abortions in the sense of this law acts which take effect before the fertilized ovum has completed its implantation in the uterus.
To arrive at such a verdict, the experts followed the following reasoning, reported by Der Spiegel: the “concerns of the unborn child and the worries of the pregnant woman” should be weighted distinctly depending on the stage of the pregnancy. “The right to life does not have the same weight before and after birth,” explained law professor Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf to the Hamburg weekly.
However, the likelihood that the experts’ opinion will be quickly converted into legislative measures seems quite slim given the division of the coalitions regarding ethical questions. For example, the social democrats and the environmentalist party The Greens had announced their desire to repeal article 218 of the Penal Code during the 2021 campaign, but ultimately did not proceed with such a deletion due to internal dissensions to the coalition.
After the report was made public, members of the opposition, dissatisfied with the results, issued strong criticism. Thorsten Frei, deputy of the CDU parliamentary group (the Union of Christian Democrats) even stated on April 9 that his group would file a complaint if the ruling coalition came to apply the recommendations of the symposium. For its part, the Church of Germany also expressed its opposition, the president of the Conference of Catholic Bishops, Monsignor Georg Bätzing, having accused the commission of not recognizing the right to life of future newborns as well as their human dignity, reports German public radio MDR.
Also read: IVG in the Constitution: Claude Malhuret moves Congress by recounting the “drama” of those who cannot abort
It remains to be seen what decision the authorities will take following the recent publication of the results of the consultation. For now, the ministers responsible for the issue appear cautious. As such, Christiane Hoffmann, deputy government spokesperson, announced Monday in Berlin that the subject is “very sensitive” and relates to “very personal” areas, according to MDR. As for the Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach, he believes that an amendment to the current law requires a broad social and parliamentary consensus. Finally, Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann announced that he would first carry out a thorough evaluation of the report.