Berlin – When the new abortion ban in Texas was announced last year, which even prohibits abortion after rape, there was a great outcry in this country. True to the motto: the poor women. Lucky that we don’t live there and that Germany is so progressive. Oh really? Months of research by the CORRECTIV.Lokal editors on the situation of abortions in Germany, in which a team from the Berliner Zeitung also worked, clearly shows: The supply situation in Germany is much worse than expected. Progressive looks different.
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Only half of the public hospitals with a gynecological ward state that they perform abortions at all. In rural areas, the affected women often have to travel several hundred kilometers to have an abortion – similar to what happens in Texas. And clinics with a connection to the church often reject abortions. No wonder Pope Francis also describes abortions as “contract killings”.
Results of the Correctiv research: The situation is precarious
Those affected report inadequate medical treatment, discriminatory and reproachful behavior by medical staff. And there are hardly any state-approved counseling centers in some regions of Germany. The talks themselves are often stressful for the women involved. Some are even pressured to continue the pregnancy.
For research
This research is part of a cooperation between the Berliner Zeitung and the platform for freedom of information “FragDenStaat” and CORRECTIV.Lokal. The network implements data-driven and investigative research together with local editorial offices.
Collectively, more than 300 public clinics were surveyed on abortion. The results are in a database with further information online at correctiv.org/pregnancy termination.
From this, the Berliner Zeitung developed a series lasting several weeks on the subject of abortion.
The results of the research with Correctiv are shocking and make it clear: The situation for women who want to terminate a pregnancy is precarious – and that in oh so great Germany. So instead of looking at Texas with a concerned expression, we should first sweep our own front door and finally improve the supply situation for women.
The real problem still lies in the law: In Germany, the termination of a pregnancy is still a criminal offense – see Section 218 of the Criminal Code – and can even result in a three-year prison sentence. If you want to have an abortion without being punished or sentenced for it, you have to act. And quickly. Women must go to a counseling center and then take a mandatory reflection period in order to remain unpunished. So instead of offering voluntary counseling, women are forced to seek counseling or face imprisonment. An intolerable situation that leaves you stunned.
Many women feel disenfranchised, determined by others
No wonder that many women feel disenfranchised and determined by others. Because it’s her life, her body, her future. It is their right to decide for themselves whether they want to have a child or not. Yes, unwanted pregnancy can happen. No contraceptive offers 100% protection. A pregnancy always involves two people. Nevertheless, the fault is mostly seen with the women – the patriarchy sends its regards. And whatever reason a woman may have for wanting to terminate a pregnancy, it is entirely her decision. She shouldn’t have to justify herself to anyone. Also: No woman uses an abortion as a contraceptive.
After all: Paragraph 219a – the advertising ban for abortions – is to be abolished soon. Then doctors will finally be able to publish factual information on the termination on the Internet without having to reckon with a criminal investigation. A start, but that is far from enough.
As long as abortion is not seen as a medical service but as a criminal offence, many people will continue to assume that it is something “forbidden”. The abolition of paragraph 218 is therefore more than overdue. Because no, it shouldn’t be a crime to be able to decide not to want a child. There is no birth obligation.
formation of opinions about women’s bodies
Terminations of pregnancy should already be taught factually in schools in biology lessons. So far, terminations have mostly been discussed in ethics classes. Who is for it? Who against? We form an opinion about a decision that should only be made by the women concerned about their bodies. It’s absurd. Would such an opinion-forming and such a control of Politics, medicine and society actually also imaginable for male bodies? Hardly likely.
And then there are the opponents of abortion, who pose as moralizers “to protect unborn life” and threaten not only the women affected, but also doctors who perform abortions. They storm surgeries, hold vigils in front of counseling centers, call women murderers and get away with it. It is not the doctors and women who should be sentenced and punished, but the very people who threaten them.