Speeches, music and creative actions will be used to demonstrate for the right to terminate an unwanted pregnancy in good time. “For some years now, we have been experiencing attacks from the so-called pro-life movement on doctors who perform abortions, on counseling centers or even on women seeking help, who are virtually ambushed in front of the practice,” says Ines Scheibe, alliance coordinator and herself working for the Humanist Association in psychological counseling, describing the increasingly problematic situation in Germany.
Pressure on the right to sexual self-determination is growing
The self-proclaimed “pro-lifers” march through Berlin every year and call for abortions to be banned as a matter of principle. Their supporters include Christian fundamentalist groups and representatives from the right-wing and conservative political spectrum. The Berlin state chairwoman of the AfD, Beatrix von Storch, has led the demonstration for several years. Support for the march also comes from the CDU/CSU and its Christian Democrats for Life (CDL). Self-proclaimed “pro-lifers” organize militant actions such as “sidewalk counseling” in front of medical facilities and intimidate women seeking help. They spread lies about the course of pregnancy, biological facts and the psychological consequences of abortion. They defame doctors as “mass killers” and slander professionals on websites. They exert pressure on clinics – as in North Rhine-Westphalia – so that neither examinations nor abortions are carried out after a rape. In Germany, abortions are only exempt from punishment under certain conditions. Women must seek counseling in advance and have three days to think things over before an abortion can take place. “As the Alliance for Sexual Self-Determination, we are therefore calling for unrestricted access to legal abortion and the deletion of paragraph 218 from the Criminal Code,” explains Scheibe.
The international situation is repressive
“The consequences of these attacks can be observed throughout Europe and worldwide,” adds Ines Scheibe. “Restrictive laws and the illegalization of abortions are a direct threat to the life and limb of those affected as well as the professional environment. Abortions carried out under unsafe conditions threaten the health of the woman – there can be no talk of protecting life.” In over 60 countries, women only have the right to terminate their pregnancy if they are in danger of dying. Five years ago, according to the WHO, a woman died every seven minutes worldwide as a result of an illegal abortion performed under unsafe conditions. 222 million women have no or only limited access to modern contraceptives. So take to the streets on September 17 for a life without paternalism – sexual self-determination is a human right!
