Press Release

The cabinet today approved the governing coalition’s compromise on § 219a. The Humanist Association of Germany criticizes this decision in the strongest possible terms. The proposed bill bears the hallmarks of Christian fundamentalists and self-proclaimed pro-lifers and represents a vote of no confidence in women and doctors.

The Alliance for Sexual Self-Determination criticizes the federal government’s paper as hypocritical, as it will not improve the situation of those affected, but rather contribute to additional stigmatization of abortions and unwanted pregnancies.

The UN Charter of Human Rights was proclaimed 70 years ago. But how free and equal are we today? We need to preserve and protect this achievement of humanity.

The changed social conditions towards religious and ideological pluralism must be taken into account. A conference on religious policy issues can create the basis for this.

The appeal proceedings in the Kristina Hänel case begin tomorrow. On this occasion, the Humanist Association of Germany is once again calling for the deletion of Section 219a without replacement and unrestricted access to factual information on legal abortion.

On September 11, 2018, the European Court of Justice ruled that the dismissal of a remarried head physician can constitute discrimination. The HVD welcomed this groundbreaking European signal for equality: with this decision, the ECJ called into question the labor law practice of church institutions in Germany and pointed the German courts in the right direction. Update from 21.02.2019: The Federal Labor Court has now followed suit and declared the dismissal of the doctor inadmissible.

At least 3,677 children and young people have been sexually abused by clerics of the Catholic Church since 1949. Almost every 20th cleric in the German dioceses was allegedly an abuser. This is according to the results of a study published in advance by several media outlets yesterday. The study is to be published on September 25.

Horst Seehofer wants to initiate a social debate on religion and the state. The Humanist Association of Germany welcomes this initiative and calls for greater consideration of the interests of non-religious people in political decision-making.

The amendment to civil status law that has been initiated can only be a first step. The law urgently needs further reform.

The Ministry of Health is calling on the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) to refuse the purchase of drugs for suicide for seriously ill patients, even in extreme cases. This contradicts a ruling by the Federal Administrative Court. The Humanist Association of Germany is calling for harmonization in the interests of the population.