In November 2017, Kristina Hänel was sentenced to a fine on the basis of Section 219a for providing information on abortions on her website. Section 219a prevents doctors from practicing their profession freely and deprives women of self-determination over their bodies and thus of a fundamental human right. “Women have the right to make decisions about their bodies and their lives. This includes unrestricted access to factual information about legal abortion,” says psychologist Ines P. Scheibe, member of the Federal Executive Committee of the Humanist Association of Germany and co-founder of the Alliance for Sexual Self-Determination.
The reactions from the public show this: There is broad social support for the repeal of Section 219a. And the political will is apparently also there: in Berlin, the Senate Department for Health, Care and Equality has provided information and addresses of doctors who perform abortions. As another governing coalition could reverse this at any time, the necessary legal changes must be made so that affected women and couples can obtain information about abortions.
“As humanists, we are once again calling on the federal government to finally repeal Section 219a in order to secure the right to information for those affected and to create legal certainty for doctors,” says Ines P. Scheibe. “This should take place in 2018 – as a step towards further gender equality and the improvement of reproductive health.”
A broad social alliance is also calling for the abolition of Section 219a. “Charges against doctors who perform abortions and provide information about them publicly have increased significantly since the first verdict against Kristina Hänel on November 24, 2017. One of the consequences of this is that some doctors no longer dare to perform abortions. This severely restricts the right to information of those affected, the possibility of freely choosing a doctor and the right to self-determination,” reads an open letter published today by the alliance of associations to the federal government and the leaders of the CDU/CSU and SPD parliamentary groups.
Six months ago, in April 2018, the Humanist Association of Germany, together with the alliance of 26 associations and organizations, had already called for the repeal of Section 219a StGB in an open letter. The alliance of associations is now reiterating its demands to the federal government and the leaders of the CDU/CSU and SPD parliamentary groups.
