This is intended to facilitate access to information for unwanted pregnant women. In the past, doctors have been condemned by courts for providing information about performing abortions.
The Bundestag has decided to abolish the advertising ban for abortions. This is intended to make access to information about an abortion easier for unwanted pregnant women. Paragraph 219a, which has been in force until now, prohibits doctors from advertising abortions. At the same time, however, it also means that they cannot publicly offer detailed information about abortions without fear of prosecution. In the past, doctors have been condemned by courts for providing information about performing abortions. The government’s draft was supported by the left, the Union and AfD rejected the deletion of criminal law paragraph 219a.
Federal Family Minister Lisa Paus celebrated the planned end of the so-called advertising ban on abortion as a “triumph”. In this way, the self-determination of women in Germany is strengthened, said the Green politician of the German Press Agency. Paus expressed his relief that this practice should now be a thing of the past. “Doctors can finally provide factual information about an abortion without having to fear criminal prosecution or stigmatization,” said Paus. “Today is a good day for the doctors in Germany – and especially for the women in our country.” From now on, unintentionally pregnant women can rely on “expert advice and good support,” explained the minister. “An abortion should not be a criminal offence, but a health service,” emphasized the minister.
Among other things, the legal policy spokeswoman for the Union faction, Elisabeth Winkelmeier-Becker (CDU), had spoken out against the abolition of the advertising ban for abortions before the vote. “We don’t want any public advertising for abortions, for example on the Internet or in social media,” she said. “An unborn child has the right to life and human dignity from the very beginning. Awareness of this is increasingly lost when practices and clinics advertise that they can carry out an abortion particularly well, as we know from other countries without an advertising ban,” says the CDU politician.