German Expert Commission Recommends Modernization of Abortion Law

GENEVA, 15.04.2024 (PRESS RELEASE) – Today the Center for Reproductive Rights welcomed clear calls for major reform of German abortion law from the Commission on Reproductive Self-Determination and Reproductive Medicine. The Commission was tasked by the German Government to assess the regulation of abortion in Germany and make recommendations for reform.

In its report issued today the Commission found that the current regulation of abortion in Germany falls short of international human rights standards and public health guidelines and is out of step with European standard practice. The Commission has recommended a series of important legal changes.

“German law on abortion stigmatizes women who seek abortion care and demeans their ability to make autonomous and informed decisions about their pregnancies. It is clearly out of step with international law, European comparators and public health evidence. The German Government now has a historic opportunity to modernize the law and take steps to ensure that it moves into line with international human rights law and best clinical practice,” said Adriana Lamačkova, Associate Director for Europe at the Center for Reproductive Rights.

Although abortion is available in Germany, the Penal Code still considers abortion to be a crime while specifying that in certain instances it will not be punishable. This type of legal framework is an anomaly in Europe and subjects those seeking abortion care to harmful stigma and stereotypes. It also has a chilling effect on the provision of abortion care and the training of healthcare workers. The existing legal framework also imposes a range of additional barriers on access to abortion, including directive counselling requirements that are also unmatched in the European context.

International human rights mechanisms and the World Health Organization have repeatedly underlined the importance of the full decriminalization of abortion, and the legalization of abortion on request. Alongside Germany, several countries across Europe are currently considering reforms intended to modernize their abortion laws and move them into closer compliance with international law and public health guidance.

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Background

The Commission on Reproductive Self-Determination and Reproductive Medicine which issued today’s report was appointed in March 2023 by the Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, the Federal Minister of Health, and the Federal Minister of Justice. Made up of experts in the fields of medicine, psychology, sociology, health sciences, ethics and law, the Commission was tasked with assessing how abortion can be regulated outside of the Penal Code.

In October 2023, the Center for Reproductive Rights submitted a written statement to the Commission, outlining international human rights standards and the WHO guidelines on abortion care as well as an overview of European comparative law on abortion.

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