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The Federal Constitutional Court today declared Section 217 of the German Criminal Code (StGB) null and void: the ban on commercial assisted suicide is no longer valid. The Humanist Association of Germany welcomes the associated strengthening of the right to self-determination and proposes a new regulation of assisted suicide.

On February 26, the Federal Constitutional Court (BVerfG) in Karlsruhe will decide whether and to what extent assisted suicide should be permitted again, in line with the situation before the 2015 Prohibition Act. Public and internal reflection on the significance of the ruling and what comes next is in full swing. A contribution by Gita Neumann.

A broad civil society alliance is backing the alternative report of the German Alliance for Choice (GAfC) to the United Nations. The report advocates the decriminalization and destigmatization of abortion as well as adequate healthcare for women in Germany.

Tomorrow, Thursday, the Bundestag will hold a final debate on two draft bills to revise organ donation regulations. In the opinion of the Humanist Association of Germany (HVD), however, neither the so-called objection solution nor the consent solution can make a significant contribution to increasing the number of transplants. Instead, the registration of brain-dead donors in German clinics must be drastically increased, the lost trust of the population must be regained and, above all, educational work must be carried out. As an ideal support instrument, the HVD recommends open-ended counseling that also addresses reservations and ultimate uncertainties in the context of a living will with health care proxy.

According to experts, Health Minister Spahn has been openly breaking the law since 2018: he is denying seriously ill patients access to suicide drugs – contrary to a final ruling by the Federal Administrative Court. Spahn also refuses to make his actions more transparent. The Humanist Association of Germany (HVD) criticizes this in the strongest terms.

November 9, the “fateful day of the Germans”, is not just the day the Berlin Wall came down. 81 years ago, the synagogues burned during the Reichspogromnacht. November 9, 1938 marked the beginning of the darkest chapter in our German history.