“We followed yesterday’s public hearing in the Legal Affairs Committee with excitement. We were stunned by the failure of the motion to legalize abortions in the first twelve weeks of pregnancy. After all, 328 members of the Bundestag were able to agree on this motion,” said Christiane Herrmann, board member of the Humanist Association of Germany – Federal Association.
At the public hearing on February 10, 2025, the Legal Affairs Committee of the German Bundestag decided against pursuing the cross-party group motion, according to which abortions at the end of the twelfth week of pregnancy should no longer be illegal in principle. A special session of the Legal Affairs Committee would have been necessary in order to bring the bill to a vote in the Bundestag during this legislative period.
“Whether the issue will be taken up in the next legislative period will depend crucially on the results of the parliamentary elections and pressure from civil society. Theoretically, this would open up the possibility of addressing the whole issue again in detail,” continues Christiane Herrmann.
