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‘Untenable’: Legalise abortions in first trimester, urges German commission

Abortion should be legalised in Germany in the early stages of pregnancy, a commission set up by the government recommended on Monday.

Published: 15 April 2024 17:26 CEST

During a flash mob organised by the Alliance for Sexual Self-Determination on Monday, activists hold a ribbon calling for the removal of paragraph 218, which would remove abortion from the criminal code in Germany. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Sebastian Gollnow

Under current German law, abortion is illegal but tolerated in practice for women who are up to 12 weeks pregnant and have received compulsory counselling.

There are also exceptions for women who have been raped or whose life is in danger.

The commission, set up last year by Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition government, recommended relaxing the law in a 600-page report published on Monday.

The current situation is “untenable”, said Liane Woerner, a law professor and member of the group, urging the government to “take action to make abortion legal and unpunishable” in the first trimester.

The commission also recommended examining whether abortion could be made legal at up to 22 weeks.

In the later stages of pregnancy, abortion should remain illegal, but “does not necessarily have to be punishable”, Woerner said.

The government will now study the report “carefully to determine the next steps”, Justice Minister Marco Buschmann told a press conference, warning against “debates that could inflame our society”.

The Centre for Reproductive Rights NGO welcomed the commission’s recommendations, saying Germany now had a “historic opportunity to modernise the law”.

“German law on abortion stigmatises women who seek abortion care and demeans their ability to make autonomous and informed decisions about their pregnancies,” said Adriana Lamackova, associate director for the NGO in Europe.

Reforming Germany’s abortion law was a flagship pledge of the current government, a coalition between Scholz’s Social Democrats, the Greens and the liberal FDP.

In 2022, the German parliament voted to remove a Nazi-era law that limited the information doctors and clinics could provide about abortions.

Government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann on Monday declined to comment on whether abortion could now be legalised before Germany’s next election in 2025.

“It will depend on how the debate develops,” she told a government press conference.

The opposition conservatives and the far right have rejected any relaxation of the law.

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Output is expected to expand 0.3 percent this year, the economy ministry said, up from a prediction of 0.2 percent in February.

The slightly rosier picture comes after improvements in key indicators — from factory output to business activity — boosted hopes a recovery may be getting under way.

The German economy shrank slightly last year, hit by soaring inflation, a manufacturing slowdown and weakness in trading partners, and has acted as a major drag on the 20-nation eurozone.

But releasing its latest projections, the economy ministry said in a statement there were growing indications of a “turning point”.

“Signs of an economic upturn have increased significantly, especially in recent weeks,” Economy Minister Robert Habeck said at a press conference.

The ministry also cut its forecast for inflation this year to 2.4 percent, from a previous prediction of 2.8 percent, and sees the figure falling below two percent next year.

“The fall in inflation will lead to consumer demand — people have more money in their wallets again, and will spend this money,” said Habeck.

“So purchasing power is increasing, real wages are rising and this will contribute to a domestic economic recovery.”

Energy prices — which surged after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine — had also fallen and supply chain woes had eased, he added.

Several months ago there had been expectations of a strong rebound in 2024, with forecasts of growth above one percent, but these were dialled back at the start of the year as the economy continued to languish.

‘Germany has fallen behind’

But improving signs have fuelled hopes the lumbering economy — while not about to break into a sprint — may at least be getting back on its feet.

On Wednesday a closely-watched survey from the Ifo institute showed business sentiment rising for a third consecutive month in April, and more strongly than expected.

A key purchasing managers’ index survey this week showed that business activity in Germany had picked up.

And last week the central bank, the Bundesbank, forecast the economy would expand slightly in the first quarter, dodging a recession, after earlier predicting a contraction.

German Economics Minister Robert Habeck

Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) presents the latest economic forecasts at a press conference in Berlin on Wednesday, April 24th. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Michael Kappeler

Despite the economy’s improving prospects, growth of 0.3 percent is still slower than other developed economies and below past rates, and officials fret it is unlikely to pick up fast in the years ahead.

Habeck has repeatedly stressed solutions are needed for deep-rooted problems facing Germany, from an ageing population to labour shortages and a transition towards greener industries that is moving too slowly.

“Germany has fallen behind other countries in terms of competitiveness,” he said. “We still have a lot to do — we have to roll up our sleeves.”

Already facing turbulence from pandemic-related supply chain woes, the German economy’s problems deepened dramatically when Russia invaded Ukraine and slashed supplies of gas, hitting the country’s crucial manufacturers hard.

While the energy shock has faded, continued weakness in trading partners such as China, widespread strikes in recent months and higher eurozone interest rates have all prolonged the pain.

The European Central Bank has signalled it could start cutting borrowing costs in June, which would boost the eurozone.

But Habeck stressed that care was still needed as, despite the expectations of imminent easing, “tight monetary policy has not yet been lifted.”

In addition, disagreements in Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party ruling coalition are hindering efforts to reignite growth, critics say.

This week the pro-business FDP party, a coalition partner, faced an angry backlash from Scholz’s SPD when it presented a 12-point plan for an “economic turnaround”, including deep cuts to state benefits.

Christian Lindner, the fiscally hawkish FDP finance minister, welcomed signs of “stabilisation” in the economic forecasts but stressed that projected medium-term growth was “too low to sustainably finance our state”.

“There are no arguments for postponing the economic turnaround,” he added.