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HEALTH

‘Untenable’: Legalise abortions in first trimester, urges German commission

Abortion should be legalised in Germany in the early stages of pregnancy, a commission set up by the government recommended on Monday.

Published: 15 April 2024 17:26 CEST
During a flash mob organised by the Alliance for Sexual Self-Determination on Monday, activists hold a ribbon calling for the removal of paragraph 218, which would remove abortion from the criminal code in Germany.
During a flash mob organised by the Alliance for Sexual Self-Determination on Monday, activists hold a ribbon calling for the removal of paragraph 218, which would remove abortion from the criminal code in Germany. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Sebastian Gollnow

Under current German law, abortion is illegal but tolerated in practice for women who are up to 12 weeks pregnant and have received compulsory counselling.

There are also exceptions for women who have been raped or whose life is in danger.

The commission, set up last year by Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition government, recommended relaxing the law in a 600-page report published on Monday.

The current situation is “untenable”, said Liane Woerner, a law professor and member of the group, urging the government to “take action to make abortion legal and unpunishable” in the first trimester.

READ ALSO: Will abortion in Germany soon become legal?

The commission also recommended examining whether abortion could be made legal at up to 22 weeks.

In the later stages of pregnancy, abortion should remain illegal, but “does not necessarily have to be punishable”, Woerner said.

The government will now study the report “carefully to determine the next steps”, Justice Minister Marco Buschmann told a press conference, warning against “debates that could inflame our society”.

The Centre for Reproductive Rights NGO welcomed the commission’s recommendations, saying Germany now had a “historic opportunity to modernise the law”.

“German law on abortion stigmatises women who seek abortion care and demeans their ability to make autonomous and informed decisions about their pregnancies,” said Adriana Lamackova, associate director for the NGO in Europe.

Reforming Germany’s abortion law was a flagship pledge of the current government, a coalition between Scholz’s Social Democrats, the Greens and the liberal FDP.

READ ALSO: Reader question – Is abortion illegal in Germany?

In 2022, the German parliament voted to remove a Nazi-era law that limited the information doctors and clinics could provide about abortions.

Government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann on Monday declined to comment on whether abortion could now be legalised before Germany’s next election in 2025.

“It will depend on how the debate develops,” she told a government press conference.

The opposition conservatives and the far right have rejected any relaxation of the law.

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POLITICS

Germany’s Scholz rejects calls for later retirement in Labour Day message

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has rejected calls for later retirement in a video message for Labour Day published on Wednesday.

Published: 1 May 2024 08:12 CEST
Germany's Scholz rejects calls for later retirement in Labour Day message

“For me, it is a question of decency not to deny those who have worked for a long time the retirement they deserve,” said Scholz.

Employees in Germany worked more hours in 2023 than ever before: “That’s why it annoys me when some people talk disparagingly about ‘Germany’s theme park’ – or when people call for raising the retirement age,” he said.

Scholz also warned of creating uncertainty due to new debates about the retirement age. “Younger people who are just starting out in their working lives also have the right to know how long they have to work,” he said.

Scholz did not explicitly say who the criticism was targeted at, but at its party conference last weekend, the coalition partner FDP called for the abolition of pensions at 63 for those with long-term insurance, angering its government partners SPD and the Greens.

Scholz saw the introduction of the minimum wage nine years ago – and its increase to twelve euros per hour by his government – as a “great success”. “The proportion of poorly paid jobs in our country has shrunk as a result,” he said.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: Is it worthwhile to set up a private pension plan in Germany?

However, he said there were still too many people “who work hard for too little money,” highlighting the additional support available through housing benefit, child allowance and the reduction of social security contributions for low earners.

“Good collective wage agreements also ensure that many employees finally have more money in their pockets again,” he added. 

And he said that the country wouldn’t “run out of work” in the coming years.

“On the contrary! We need more workers,” he said, explaining that that’s why his government is ensuring “that those who fled to us from Russia’s war in Ukraine get work more quickly.”

Work means “more than making money,” said Scholz. “Work also means: belonging, having colleagues, experiencing recognition and appreciation.”

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