Most cases of abortion are illegal in Germany, which report says is not compatible with international standards
Abortions in Germany should be legalised within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, a government-appointed commission has recommended.
While abortion is rarely punished, it remains illegal in Germany, except for specific circumstances including when a woman’s life is in danger, or she is a victim of rape, while the prerequisite for any termination is a consultation with a state-recognised body.
Advocates of a law change have welcomed the investigation into the country’s legal framework, calling the law outdated and detrimental to women. Even in the cases not considered illegal, the procedure must take place within the first three months, except when there is a compelling reason to carry it out later.
The all-female expert commission on reproductive self-determination and reproductive medicine was set up by Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party government after the desire to change the 153-year-old law was anchored in its coalition agreement.
It’s illegal but not punished if those conditions are met. It’s a legal detail due to the constitutional court saying, more or less, that you can’t just legalise the killing of a human if it’s not self-defence and at-will abortions can’t count as self-defence as noone infringed on the woman’s rights.
The state is required to combat abortions, but social and welfare means have precedence over criminal punishment. Germany has a very low abortion rate (5.4/1000 women), that’s about half that of Poland (which is Catholic) and 1/3rd to 1/4th (depending on the numbers you look at) of the US rates, and that’s with abortion being illegal in a lot of US states and probably getting undercounted. 1/10th of Cuba.