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HEALTH

National hockey team goalie dies after cancer battle

Germany's national hockey team goaltender Robert Müller has died following a long battle with a brain tumour, his team the Cologne Sharks announced on Friday.

Published: 22 May 2009 15:23 CEST
National hockey team goalie dies after cancer battle
Photo: DPA

The 28-year-old passed away in Rosenheim, Bavaria, on Thursday, leaving behind his wife Jenny and their two young children.

“I am deeply saddened by the death of Robert Müller, he has left us far too early,” said Uwe Krupp, head coach of Germany’s national hockey team. “Through this death, we have lost not just a terrific team member, but a great person.”

In August 2008, Müller had surgery in an effort to remove the tumour and was back on the ice for the Cologne Sharks three months later. But in December of that year, his health worsened and he left the ice for the last time.

The Germany star was chosen by the Washington Capitals in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, although he never played for the team, and he later won the German Championship title with both the Mannheim Eagles and Krefeld Penguins.

“I am of course shocked,” said Markus Kuhl, team manager of Mannheim Eagles. “I knew him since we were little… He was 100 percent a sportsman.”

In 2001, Müller was recruited for the national German hockey team, making two Olympic appearances in 2002 and 2006.

His most recent team, the Cologne Sharks, have retired his number 80 jersey in his memory.

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HEALTH

Danish parties agree to raise abortion limit to 18 weeks

Denmark's government has struck a deal with four other parties to raise the point in a pregnancy from which a foetus can be aborted from 12 weeks to 18 weeks, in the first big change to Danish abortion law in 50 years.

Published: 3 May 2024 08:06 CEST
Danish parties agree to raise abortion limit to 18 weeks

The government struck the deal with the Socialist Left Party, the Red Green Alliance, the Social Liberal Party and the Alternative party, last week with the formal announcement made on Monday  

“In terms of health, there is no evidence for the current week limit, nor is there anything to suggest that there will be significantly more or later abortions by moving the week limit,” Sophie Løhde, Denmark’s Minister of the Interior and Health, said in a press release announcing the deal.

The move follows the recommendations of Denmark’s Ethics Council, which in September 2023 proposed raising the term limit, pointing out that Denmark had one of the most restrictive abortion laws in Western Europe. 

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Under the deal, the seven parties, together with the Liberal Alliance and the Conservatives, have also entered into an agreement to replace the five regional abortion bodies with a new national abortion board, which will be based in Aarhus. 

From July 1st, 2025, this new board will be able to grant permission for abortions after the 18th week of pregnancy if there are special considerations to take into account. 

The parties have also agreed to grant 15-17-year-olds the right to have an abortion without parental consent or permission from the abortion board.

Marie Bjerre, Denmark’s minister for Digitalization and Equality, said in the press release that this followed logically from the age of sexual consent, which is 15 years old in Denmark. 

“Choosing whether to have an abortion is a difficult situation, and I hope that young women would get the support of their parents. But if there is disagreement, it must ultimately be the young woman’s own decision whether she wants to be a mother,” she said. 

The bill will be tabled in parliament over the coming year with the changes then coming into force on June 1st, 2025.

The right to free abortion was introduced in Denmark in 1973. 

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