12-week abortions should be legalized: German commission

STORY: Abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy should be legalized in Germany, a government-appointed commission said on Monday (April 15).

But it added that the country should keep its ban on the procedure after fetal viability at around 22 weeks.

Liane Woerner is one of the 18-member panel of experts in medicine, psychology, ethics and law.

"The fundamental illegality of abortion in the early stages of pregnancy, currently paragraph 218a of the Criminal Code, is untenable. Lawmakers should take action and make these abortions legal and unpunishable."

Women in Germany now typically require counseling to obtain a legal abortion within the first 12 weeks.

There are some exceptions, including for victims of violent crime.

There are no time restrictions for abortions if the mother's life is in danger.

It will be up to Chancellor Olaf Scholz's center-left coalition to decide whether to accept the commission's advise.

The commission also said it should be up to lawmakers to decide on the rules between the early and late stages of pregnancy.

Health Minister Karl Lauterbach spoke of an "immediate need for action" regarding access to abortions and adequate care for women with unwanted pregnancies - especially in the religiously conservative south of the country.

"What we don't need in Germany is another debate that divides society. I therefore appeal to everyone to react objectively here, to discuss things objectively, to avoid slipping into an ideological discussion. And we as the German government will also discuss the results internally in great detail, and will then also propose an orderly process as to how we as government, but also as parliament, deal with these results."

Neither Lauterbach nor the ministers receiving the commission's recommendations offered a timeline for a draft law.

Some members of the conservative opposition have said they would take any planned reform to the Constitutional Court.

Kristina Haenel is a general practitioner. She feels the change in law is long overdue.

"...it would be good if Germany would stop falling so far behind when it comes to abortion legislation. And we simply need a change in criminal law. This paragraph 218 has tortured people for over 150 years, killed women, caused damage to health and still leads to serious restrictions today."

Abortion rights have become a divisive issue among voters in the United States and several European countries.

Poland's 2021 revisions to abortion laws made headlines as conservative policies took root in one of Europe's most devoutly Catholic countries.

Earlier this year, French President Emmanuel Macron said he wants the European Union to guarantee the right to an abortion in its Charter of Fundamental Rights.

In 2022, Germany abolished a Nazi-era law that had prevented doctors who offered pregnancy terminations from spreading information about the procedure.