Free abortions: Greens want a compulsory supply of sufficient doctors in Germany

Berlin - The Greens have decided to campaign for the abolition of paragraphs 218 and 219a of abortion. "For us Greens it is clear that the center of a regulation of abortion must be the self-determination of women and childbearing people," said the women's political spokeswoman for the Greens, Ulle Schauws, on Sunday to Der Spiegel.

In a corresponding position paper, on which the Greens have now agreed, the party calls for “nationwide security of supply in the event of an abortion”. To this end, the federal government should collect data on how many doctors or facilities are needed in Germany to perform abortions.

Federal states should have to ensure sufficient supply
Subsequently, the federal states should be obliged to provide a corresponding offer. This supply mandate should be anchored in the Pregnancy Conflict Act. Schauws demanded that women who do not want their unborn child should receive the best possible offers of medical care. "This also means that they have to be able to decide for themselves about the conditions for an abortion - which method of termination, local anesthesia or general anesthesia, advice."

In addition, according to the report, the paper states that “abortions”, like contraceptives, should be free. In the long term, Paragraphs 218 and 219a of the Criminal Code are to be deleted. Paragraph 218 states, among other things: "Anyone who terminates a pregnancy is punished with imprisonment for up to three years or with a fine."

However, this offense remains unpunished in the first twelve weeks of pregnancy if the woman can seek advice if her life and health are threatened or if she has become pregnant through rape. In Germany around 100,000 abortions are counted every year. Those for medical reasons or as a result of a criminal act make up a low, single-digit percentage of this.

Abortions without obstacles during the Covid pandemic
Paragraph 219a prohibits, among other things, the public "offering" or "promoting" abortions "for financial gain" or in "grossly offensive manner". The regulation has been in the headlines in recent years mainly because of the doctor Kristina Hänel, who had been convicted of illegal advertising for abortion.

The topic had also triggered political discussions in the Corona crisis. "Pro Choice" associations, which approve of abortion, called in view of the pandemic-related restrictions, the hurdles for the medical intervention to be lowered. Opponents of abortion warned that abortion lobbyists were trying to take advantage of the crisis "to get their agenda through the back door". It is the same actors who insisted on exemptions who have been calling for the abolition of the obligation to provide advice for years.

Source: Junge Freiheit