In the German Criminal Code, there are paragraphs 218 and 219. They criminalize abortion in Germany . On Saturday, activists will take to the streets to demand the full legalization of abortion as part of a global demonstration for abortion rights.
Sarah Tibol, an activist with the feminist organization Frauen* Kollektiv in Cologne, is one of many who are planning to protest. Her personal goal is to make women understand that abortions are not legal in German society. So many people are surprised when they first hear this."
According to German law set out in paragraph 218, any person who terminates a pregnancy can be fined or imprisoned for up to three years. There is no criminal liability if an abortion is necessary to protect a woman's health, if rape led to pregnancy, or if a woman takes part in a consultation and has an abortion before the 12th week of pregnancy. However, these exceptions do not make abortion legal; rather, the process is simply possible without punishment.
"Morally charged" theme
The German Federal Statistical Office reported just over 100,000 abortions in 2018. About 96% of the procedures were performed after consultation and before the 12th week of pregnancy. Just under 4% were performed due to medical complications during pregnancy, and only 20 pregnancies were terminated due to conception by rape.
Although almost all women in Germany have access to abortions thanks to these loopholes, activists like Tibol are demanding complete decriminalization. - Someone else is in control of the situation. We just don't have the right to do that", - she says. - We are allowed to do this only if someone says: "it's okay if you do it now.- But in fact it is forbidden."
Tibol wants women in Germany to know that all abortions are technically prohibited
Kate Cahoon, an activist of the German group Alliance for Sexual Self-Determination, sees another problem. She says that the placement of two paragraphs on abortion in the Criminal Code makes this topic taboo. "It's so morally charged, and it makes women who get pregnant unintentionally and have an abortion face an additional stigma."
Germany's political parties are split over possible decriminalization. Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats and their Bavarian "sister" party, the CSU, as well as the far-right Alternative for Germany, are largely opposed to any changes. The Social Democrats, who are currently cooperating with Merkel's conservatives, and other non-governmental parties support legalization.
Protests and counter-protests
The heated debate over abortion attracts both supporters and opponents to the streets of Germany. Most recently, on September 21, a demonstration "March for Life" was held in Berlin" against abortion. Organizers from the Federation for the Right to Life said that more than 8 thousand people took part in the action.
About 5,000 counter-protesters also took to the streets, protesting against the march and setting up temporary roadblocks.
Abortion is a hot topic in Germany, and its opponents are also taking to the streets, as it was in Berlin in September
Demonstrations have been going on for several decades, and the movement "My Stomach belongs to me" has opposed the articles of the Criminal Code related to abortion back in the 70s.
Public discussion has flared up in recent years after gynecologist Kristina Henel was convicted at the end of 2017 for violating paragraph 219a of the Criminal Code. This clause regulates how doctors can advertise abortions. Henelle was fined €6,000 for listing abortions according to the services provided on her website.
Genel was convicted in 2017 for illegal abortion advertising
After the protests, the German Parliament voted to reform paragraph 219a. Previously, this law forbade doctors to declare that they offer abortions. Now doctors can say they are offering them, but they cannot provide any additional information about medical methods. This information should be provided by the German Medical Association in the form of a list available on the Internet.
Catherine Cahoon is not satisfied with the results of the reform. "It was a lazy compromise," she says. This has not led to any real changes. The list is almost completely empty. This is a really pathetic list. We have heard from medical professionals that they do not want to be included in this list while the legislation remains unclear."
Papaya seminars for medical students
Kahun says many doctors are hesitant to have abortions because the law is still unclear. In addition, many doctors in Germany do not even have the necessary training. German medical schools often do not teach abortions. One of the largest medical universities in Germany, Charite in Berlin, only last year began offering courses on this topic.
Students often have to find other ways to inform themselves about abortion procedures. There will be no doctors left who can do this procedure," says Caroline Gabrish, an activist from medical students.
The Medical Student Movement provides alternative educational opportunities so that other medical students can learn about abortion procedures
Women reported that they have to travel several hundred kilometers to find a doctor who is ready or can offer an abortion. According to Rosstat, at the beginning of 2019, there were 1,150 facilities offering abortions in Russia. In 2003, this number was about 2,050 people, which is almost twice as high.
"In big cities like Berlin or Hamburg, this is not such a big problem. But if the only person I can talk to somewhere in the countryside is a doctor who doesn't know anything or hasn't taken the time to find out, then I'm a woman standing alone. I have to search for a doctor on the Internet or go a long way to find the information I need", - says Gabrish.
"Papaya workshop" is one of the ways that medical students can learn how abortions are performed
Organizations such as Medical Students for Choice are trying to compensate for the lack of opportunities for abortion education by offering external seminars. One of these workshops is the so-called Papaya Workshop, which uses tropical fruits to show how an abortion can be done.
Although the deletion of paragraphs 218 and 219 from the Criminal Code is the main goal of activists on Saturday, Tibol says that this is only the first step. "Deletion is the minimum that needs to happen," she says. "After that, we must continue to fight for women to have the right to have an abortion without losing their jobs and being cut off from their communities." Verdienen Sie Geld einfach und schnell nur durch das Spielen von Glücksspielen können Sie ein Millionär oder sogar ein Milliardär nur auf der https://spinaway-casino.com Online-Casino kommen.
