Germany has abolished a Nazi-era law that criminalises doctors who provide information about abortion procedures.
The governing social democrat, liberal and green parties, as well as the leftwing Die Linke, provided sufficient votes on Friday to scrap paragraph 219a of the German criminal code, which meant any doctor who publicly “offers, announces [or] advertises” abortion services could face penalties of up to two years’ imprisonment or a fine.
The parliamentary blocs of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and far-right Alternative für Deutschland voted against lifting the restrictions.
Lisa Paus, the minister for family affairs, described the result as a triumph that would strengthen women’s right to self-determination in Germany. “Today is a good day for doctors in Germany – and especially for the women in our country,” said the Green party politician.
The justice minister, Marco Buschmann, of the liberal Free Democratic party, said the vote had ended an absurd state where “any troll or conspiracy theorist” was able to spread lies about abortions over the internet, while medically qualified doctors were banned from providing information.
The legal change was criticised by the conservative CDU, whose legal affairs spokesperson, Elisabeth Winkelmeier-Becker, said it would enable “proactive advertising online” that would imply that abortion was an “everyday medical treatment”.
Abortion in Germany remains technically illegal, though women and doctors do not face penalties if the pregnancy poses a health risk, in the case of rape, or if the abortion is carried out within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy and after mandatory counselling.
Paragraph 219a, which dates back to May 1933, shortly after Adolf Hitler assumed full powers of Nazi Germany, was a further barrier. Rarely used for decades, it was discovered by anti-abortion activists in the second decade of the 21st century as a means to systematically target doctors who offer abortion services.
The paragraph of the criminal code meant doctors could be fined even if their websites stated what procedures they used when performing abortions. Over the last two decades Germany has seen a significant decline in the number of clinics performing abortions, from 2,050 in 2003 to 1,109 in 2020.
The vote in the Bundestag was watched over from the visitors gallery by Kristina Hänel, a gynaecologist who in 2017 was fined €6,000 (£5,140) for breaking the law by publishing information about abortion services on her website.
“I am relieved and delighted that paragraph 219a will likely be abolished”, Hänel told the public broadcaster ZDF on the eve of the vote. “I believe it means we have reached the goal of giving women the right to information about ending a pregnancy.”
LookThisOneGuy on June 24th, 2022 at 16:29 UTC »
The headline makes it sound like doctors performing abortions are criminalised. Doctors are not punished for performing abortions.
The article even clarifies it in the first sentence:
Under that law, doctors that advertise that they perform abortions have been criminalised. I am glad that law is being changed. Abortion isn't some drug like alcohol or cigarettes where banning ads can have a positive effect.
Offtopic: Another shit tier sensational headline by the guardian. Who would have thought.
edit: In case smart-ass police comes: Abortion is indeed punishable if:
Not performed by a doctor Not either of [medically necessary(physical or mental wellbeing of the mother) or first 12 weeks of the pregnancy] If against the wishes of the mother If no medical counseling took place.And that is likely not going to change. Coat hanger abortions will still be punishable by law, the parents/husband/wife forcing the mother to have an abortion will also still be punishable for both the one performing and the one forcing the mother.
Glinren on June 24th, 2022 at 14:23 UTC »
Abortions are allowed (within the first twelve weeks) but advertising was not allowed. That led to cases where doctors were prosecuted(I don't know if anyone was convicted) for informing on their homepage about how an abortion procedure would be performed.
Fa1c0n3 on June 24th, 2022 at 14:10 UTC »
Didn't some American governors just pass these exact laws?