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More than a year ago, the Federal Constitutional Court declared Section 217 of the German Criminal Code (prohibition of commercial assisted suicide) null and void, but there is still a need for regulation. The Humanist Association of Germany therefore welcomes today’s Bundestag debate on the subject and appeals to MPs to take the will of the vast majority of the population seriously.

On April 28, 2020, Mubarak Bala was arbitrarily arrested for allegedly making blasphemous statements. After a year, he is still in custody without charge. Humanists around the world, including the Humanist Association of Germany, have sent an open letter to the governor responsible calling for his immediate release.

In a joint appeal, a broad alliance of more than 100 organizations, including the Humanist Association of Germany, is calling on the parliamentary groups in the Bundestag and the federal states to agree by the summer break on a law to incorporate children’s rights into the Basic Law that meets the requirements of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The coronavirus pandemic has caused a global setback in terms of equality for women. Women are more disadvantaged and burdened by the pandemic, and precarious working conditions and traditional role distributions have even deepened. We need to take a close look and act to ensure that these setbacks are not cemented and gender equality is not set back by years.

The Humanist Association of Germany (Humanistischer Verband Deutschlands – Bundesverband) welcomes the fact that, one year after the ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court, a draft law to regulate assisted suicide has been put forward by the German parliament. To date, doctors in Germany have continued to use an unsuitable cocktail of drugs for assisted suicide or have used an euthanasia association for a four-figure sum.

The fight for the abolition of Section 219a is entering the next round: on January 15, 2021, the Frankfurt Higher Regional Court dismissed the appeal by doctor Kristina Hänel, making the ruling legally binding. Hänel has announced that she will now lodge a constitutional complaint against Section 219a. The Humanist Association of Germany – Federal Association declares its solidarity with the Giessen doctor and once again calls for the deletion of § 219a without replacement.