Germany plans to lift abortion advertising ban
BERLIN – Germany’s justice minister on Monday launched a drive to remove from the country’s criminal code a ban on doctors “advertising” abortion services, a provision that he said is untenable.
The move is the first of several liberal social policies planned by Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s governing coalition, which took office last month.
Former Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right party, now in opposition, had defended the criminal code’s paragraph 219a, that bans advertising abortions. It carries a fine or prison sentence of up to two years.
Under a compromise in 2019, Merkel’s government left the ban formally in place but allowed doctors and hospitals for the first time to say on their websites that they perform abortions. They were not, however, allowed to give more detailed information.
“We want to end an untenable legal situation,” Justice Minister Marco Buschmann said, announcing that he had drawn up legislation to scrap the paragraph. “The current legal situation is that doctors who give factual information about their work, and for example give information on the methods they use to carry out terminations, have to expect criminal investigations and convictions.”
“It can’t be the case that everyone can put everything about these issues on the internet, but the people who are particularly qualified can’t,” Buschmann said.
In Germany, abortions are allowed within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy and women seeking one must undergo counseling three days before the procedure is carried out.