Germany’s most contentious section of law on go under the name 219a and has become a political powder keg. The law prohibits doctors and clinics that perform abortions to make advertising for it on their website or in leaflets, which can result in a fine or imprisonment for a maximum of two years.
so Far, justice is seen between the fingers of those who violated the law, which was established already during the nazi era. But in recent times, an increasingly vocal group of the oppose abortion sat in the system to notify doctors and clinics that inform that they perform abortions. Recently sentenced a doctor from Giessen in west Germany to the equivalent of approximately 60,000 kronor in fines after she’s on her website written to women who want to abort their pregnancy can turn to her. More doctors have been notified but have escaped prosecution after they deleted the information.
among the critics who believe that the provision is antiquated and unworthy of a modern society. 150,000 people wrote during the rebellion, which requires that the rules be abolished.
The German coalition government has been divided on the issue of the so-called “advertising ban” that has been seen out to be developed into a new governmental crisis. The social democrats, the SPD has argued for the women who ended up in an emergency shall be given the opportunity to be able to acquire timely and relevant information on how and where they can get an abortion, and that doctors are not to be criminalised in order to provide the information.
Angela Merkel’s christian Democrats CDU/CSU, on the contrary, fought for the that the paragraph should remain because abortion should not be equated with other medical intervention and that it is about protecting life.
After several months of negotiations came late on Wednesday night by the news that the parties reached a breakthrough. Lagparagrafen will remain but will be reformed, was the announcement from the government offices. In January, the government make a decision about a new letter.
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, who at the weekend took over as the leader of the CDU after Angela Merkel thanked for, was the issue of abortion her first major battle. She is herself a faithful catholic, and had with them their conservative wing when she argued for keeping the rules, while she exercised a balancing act to keep up the cooperation with the social democrats.
She now looks to have succeeded.
the Number of abortions has declined sharply in Germany in recent years, from 135.000 in 2000 to 100,000 in the last year, according to figures from the Statistisches Bundesamt.
