An expert commission appointed by the government recommends that abortions should no longer be a criminal offense in the early stages of pregnancy. She also commented on egg donation and surrogacy.
A commission appointed by the federal government recommends decriminalizing abortions in the first weeks of pregnancy. “In the early phase of pregnancy (…) the legislature should allow abortion with the woman’s consent,” says the summary of a report by the interdisciplinary commission. It must also be ensured that women can have the abortion carried out promptly and without barriers in easily accessible facilities.
Abortions are actually still possible today in the early phase – i.e. within the first twelve weeks of pregnancy – if the woman has sought advice beforehand. Abortions are also possible if there are certain medical reasons or after rape. However, this has so far been regulated as an exception in the Criminal Code, where abortions are otherwise generally criminalized.
“Basic illegality untenable”
In its coalition agreement, the traffic light agreed to have a commission examine the extent to which abortions could also be regulated outside the criminal code. “The fundamental illegality of abortion in the early phase of pregnancy (…) is untenable. The legislature should take action here and make abortion legal and unpunished,” said the coordinator in the commission responsible for the issue, criminal lawyer Liane Wörner from the University of Konstanz.
An abortion is currently not punishable under certain conditions, “but it is still marked as illegal, as injustice,” said the deputy coordinator, Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf, criticizing the current rule. A change is not just a formality. For the women affected, it makes a big difference whether what they are doing is wrong or right. “This also has an impact on the obligation of statutory health insurance companies to provide benefits.”
At the same time, the commission also recommends that abortions should not be permitted once the fetus is viable outside the womb. She formulates two exceptions: If the mother’s health is at risk or the pregnancy is the result of rape, she considers abortions to be permissible even in a later phase. The recommendations continue to state that in the middle phase of pregnancy, the legislature has some leeway. He is free to decide whether he wants to stick to the current obligation to provide advice.
A week ago, “Spiegel” reported on the commission’s final paper.
Probably not a quick decision
The responsible ministers left it open whether they wanted to change the law during this legislative period. In the end, this requires a broad social and parliamentary consensus, said Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach. An orderly process will be proposed as to how we as the federal government and parliament deal with this, said the SPD politician.
The report will first be thoroughly evaluated, said Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann. The FDP politician added that it was still too early to talk about the consequences. “What we don’t need are debates that set society on fire or even divide it.” Federal Family Minister Lisa Paus (Greens) said the commission’s recommendations provided a good basis for the necessary open and fact-based discourse.
Deputy government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann spoke of a very sensitive topic that deeply affects personal areas. It is important to weigh up different goods against each other. “We want to have a debate that will ultimately help us move forward on this issue, and that’s not something that can be done under time pressure and ‘now we’ll do it really quickly’. That would really be the wrong approach.” The expert report should now be the basis for a debate between politicians and society. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) wanted this discussion to be conducted in a calm and sensitive manner.
Union threatens to sue
The President of the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK), Irme Stetter-Karp, spoke out against the legalization of abortions. The social scientist said that the Commission’s proposal was actually very close to the proposal for a deadline solution WDR. “And we don’t think it’s right to stop giving the embryo appropriate protection in the first few weeks.”
The Union had already threatened to sue last week if the government generally exempted abortions in the first twelve weeks. If the traffic light coalition adopts the working group’s suggestions, “that would inevitably lead to a lawsuit being filed in Karlsruhe,” said the Parliamentary Managing Director of the CDU/CSU MPs, Thomas Frei.
Assessment of egg donation and Surrogacy
A second working group of the commission addressed the question of whether egg donation and surrogacy should be permitted in Germany. The experts see the legalization of egg donation in Germany as permissible, “provided it is based on a legal basis that, in particular, guarantees the necessary protection of the donors and the well-being of the child,” as they say.
Along with Luxembourg, Germany is the only EU country where egg donation is still banned, said the commission’s coordinator for the topic, Claudia Wiesemann from the University of Göttingen. As with sperm donation, it is important to ensure the child’s right to know its origins.
When it came to the issue of surrogacy, the commission found it more difficult. A further ban is understandable, said the responsible spokeswoman, the Mainz lawyer Friederike Wapler. However, legalization is possible under strict legal conditions. It would be crucial, for example, that exploitation of the surrogate mother is legally prevented. The placement of surrogate mothers must also be organized altruistically and therefore non-commercially. The prerequisite is that parents and surrogate mother know each other through a family relationship, for example, or that they reach an agreement that a relationship between both parties will continue beyond the birth.