What is the state of freedom and human rights for humanists, atheists and non-religious people worldwide? Our partner organization Humanists International has published its annual Freedom of Thought Report.
The Legal Affairs Committee of the German Bundestag titled its hearing on November 28 “Assisted dying/suicide prevention”. It is thus following the agenda of the largest inter-party group of MPs around Castellucci to date, who are once again campaigning for a broad ban on assisted suicide, i.e. a new edition of Section 217, which was overturned by the Federal Constitutional Court in 2020. At the same time, the spokespeople have tabled a motion on suicide prevention. With this junction on assisted dying and suicide prevention, the group of MPs is diverting attention from its unconstitutional criminal law provision. In addition, the term “end-of-life care”, which the Legal Affairs Committee has adopted from palliative and hospice care, means that assistance is provided to terminally ill patients when they are dying. In contrast, the draft legislation deals with assisted suicide in any situation. The Humanist Association of Germany (HVD) strongly criticizes this strategic diversionary manoeuvre by Castellucci and others and warns other members of parliament not to be misled by it.
Entertaining days with stimulating topics at the second nationwide presence meeting of the Bertha von Suttner-Studienwerk (BvS). The meeting took place at the HVD’s “House of Humanism” in Berlin.
The poverty rate among children is at its highest level for years. The signatory organizations of the Child Poverty Council, including the Humanist Association of Germany, are calling on federal politicians to take decisive action against child poverty and provide the necessary funds in the federal budget.
The HVD has adopted a comprehensive position paper on the new regulation of abortions outside of criminal law. It advocates a time limit regulation that takes into account the increasing need for protection as the embryo develops. In addition, nationwide basic care for abortions must finally be provided.
In future, the HVD Federal Association will provide regular information about its work in a new newsletter. You can now subscribe to our new information service.
This year, our international partner organization Humanists International is celebrating its 70th anniversary. To mark this occasion, the Amsterdam Declaration, in which the basic principles of humanism are formulated, has been revised and further developed.
A recent decision by the Federal Court of Justice could mean a shift in boundaries beyond this case: The BGH acquitted a woman who had initially been convicted, even though she had injected her chronically seriously ill husband with a lethal dose of insulin. Prior to this, he had independently taken all the tablets available in the house in order to end his life. Erwin Kress, spokesman for the board of the Humanistischer Verband Deutschlands – Bundesverband, sees the landmark ruling of the Federal Court of Justice as a “double-edged sword”, as it strengthens the right to self-determination on the one hand, but could also encourage “abuse of assistance” on the other.
How self-determined can we decide about our own death? What ethical challenges does the genetic manipulation of embryos pose? And how can human lives be prioritized fairly in triage? The new issue of our humanist magazine “diesseits” is dedicated to questions of medical ethics. Read it now!
At the Council of Delegates of the HVD Federal Association last Saturday, a new board member was elected and a new venue for humanist exchange was introduced.
