Photo: Sasa Florence / Repro Uncensored

On February 10, over 300,000 signatures were handed over to German lawmakers in Berlin, urging them to finally remove abortion from the criminal code. Dozens of advocacy groups, including major trade unions, stood alongside politicians from the Greens, SPD and Die Linke, calling for a vote before the end of the legislative period. But just hours later, CDU and FDP leaders made it clear: there would be no vote. The long-anticipated attempt at reform failed – for now.

Abortion in Germany is still regulated under Section 218 of the German criminal code (Strafgesetzbuch, or StGB), which criminalises abortion except under specific conditions: a compulsory counselling session, a mandatory three-day waiting period and a gestational limit of 12 weeks. Pregnancies resulting from rape or posing a medical risk also qualify. Even then, it’s not technically legal – only exempt from punishment.

“Abortion is still treated as a crime, not as healthcare,” says Jasmina Bajramović, press spokesperson for the Alliance for Sexual Self-Determination (Bündnis für sexuelle Selbstbestimmung), one of the lead organisers behind the reform campaign. “As long as abortion remains in the criminal code, it continues to be socially stigmatised … Legal uncertainty discourages many doctors from offering abortions at all – out of fear of legal consequences, harassment or institutional barriers.”

Abortion rights are a global issue, and solidarity makes a difference – especially in a city like Berlin

Historically, access has varied across regions. The DDR legalised abortion in 1972, embedding it into routine gynaecological care – a policy never adopted by West Germany. Today, federal statistics show a new divide: southern states like Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Rheinland-Pfalz, with many Catholic-run hospitals, report the lowest abortion rates. In contrast, northern city-states Berlin and Bremen are well above the national average.

“The situation is especially dire in many parts of Germany. There are entire districts without a single practice or clinic that performs abortions,” says Bajramović. “This is a direct effect of criminalisation: a medical procedure is pushed out of the regular healthcare system, with severe consequences for those affected.”

Berlin has the highest abortion rate in the country: 108 per 10,000 women – nearly double the national average. That’s partly due to the city’s robust network of clinics offering both medication-based and surgical abortions, often with multilingual support.

“Berlin is a very good place for an unplanned pregnancy because you have lots of options and good access to doctors and counselling places,” says Dr. Jutta Pliefke, a Berlin-based gynaecologist who provides abortions through pro familia and is part of the Doctors for Choice Germany network. “But that’s not like that all over Germany.” She also notes there are “no medical reasons whatsoever” behind the current regulations, “only political and ethical, religious reasons”.

Still, access in Berlin, like the rest of the country, depends heavily on bureaucratic literacy and financial security. The procedure can cost up to €600 and is rarely covered by insurance. People unfamiliar with the system or lacking fluent German face even greater challenges.

Zoe, who moved from Taiwan to Berlin in 2021, found out she was pregnant in spring 2023. “I was honestly shocked,” she says about seeing the two lines on the pregnancy test she purchased from dm. Her relationship was already turbulent, and she quickly knew she wanted an abortion. At the time, she spoke “zero” German and relied on her then-boyfriend to arrange appointments. “Honestly, I just trusted him to do all these communications,” she explains.

Clinics rarely offer translation support, so patients are expected to bring an interpreter. For Zoe, that meant her boyfriend sat beside her during the counselling session. The social worker spoke English, but “wasn’t proficient”, Zoe says. When asked to rate her desire to keep the baby on a scale of 0 to 10, she couldn’t answer honestly after her boyfriend responded first. “I still remember this question, that was a really weird question for me,” Zoe recalls. “I didn’t tell her like, ‘Our relationship is unstable.’ Even though I have the choice to keep the baby, it’s because of the stress with my [boyfriend] that I might be forced to say ‘No, 100%, I don’t want the baby’ … It wasn’t private at all.”

Because she was just six weeks along, Zoe was eligible for a medication-based abortion. She took the first dose under a doctor’s supervision, then the second dose later at home. In Berlin, the most common abortion method in 2024 – used in 54% of cases – involved Mifegyne, a synthetic steroid that induces a miscarriage.

While Zoe had her procedure within a week, many others face delays. The ELSA study, funded by the Federal Ministry of Health and published in April 2024, found that almost 60% of women surveyed had difficulty arranging the abortion.

The process never goes quite as it’s meant to. “It never stays on these three days,” says Laura Hessel, founder of Talk Abortion, an online platform aiming to destigmatise abortion. “If you get your consultation on Tuesday … the [first] day you could get your abortion is Saturday. No one works on Saturday.” Hessel, who had a surgical abortion in 2019, experienced a longer delay because the doctor only performed procedures once a week at a surgical centre. “It elongated the whole process by one and a half weeks … and that’s not unusual.”

While patients face delays, physicians navigate complex regulations. “The regulation, also for doctors who offer abortion, is so complicated,” says Dr Pliefke. “They’re different all over Germany due to the federal system … but we train and see lots of young, very motivated gynaecologists who really want to help their patients and offer abortion care.”

As long as abortion remains in the criminal code, it continues to be socially stigmatised

ELSA and other representational studies also prove that public support for reform remains high. “Even of the people who said they would vote for the conservative parties or even AfD, the majority was in favour of regulating abortion outside of [criminal] law,” Hessel says. “There’s just very little information on the whole situation around abortion. So people do believe that abortion is accessible in Germany and, therefore, some people might also agree to the statement that we have a working compromise. But if you tell them that we’ve lost over half the doctors providing abortion in the last 20 years or if I speak about the feeling of stigma and taboo I’ve experienced with my own abortion … they start to realise.”

This disconnect is what the Alliance for Sexual Self-Determination hopes to address through its ongoing campaign: Legal. Simple. Fair. “A just and practical system would take abortion out of the criminal code entirely,” Bajramović says. “It would recognise abortion as part of normal healthcare, available without mandatory counselling or waiting periods and covered by health insurance. We need clear, nationwide standards that ensure access in every region – not just in a few big cities.”

In November 2024, 328 Bundestag members supported the draft law to remove Section 218. The proposal would legalise abortion in the first 12 weeks, eliminate waiting periods and regulate lawful abortions through the Pregnancy Conflict Act. But in February, the Legal Affairs Committee declined to vote on the bill. “It was disappointing, but sadly not surprising,” Bajramović says. “But silence is also a position. The delay doesn’t stop the movement – it shows us where more pressure is needed. We’ll keep going, because the need for change is urgent and undeniable.”

In a press release published the same day, CDU politician and Chair of the Legal Affairs Committee Elisabeth Winkelmeier-Becker stated: “The CDU/CSU experts have already stated in writing that changing the legal framework for abortion would not improve the provision of care … I can only call on the initiators to withdraw this flawed and unconstitutional bill.” FDP politician and Deputy Chair of the Legal Affairs Committee Thorsten Lieb also confirmed to t-online that his party wouldn’t agree to the special session – despite the FDP generally supporting reform. An excerpt from their 2025 federal election programme reads: “The current state of care is completely inadequate. We must therefore address the political framework to ensure adequate care.”

Political tensions are already high. Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf, who publicly supported removing abortion from the criminal code, was one of three judges set to be appointed to the Federal Constitutional Court. Her potential confirmation sparked outcry among conservatives in July. CDU/CSU refused to support Brosius-Gersdorf’s nomination, citing a recent allegation that she may have plagiarised her doctoral dissertation in 1997. The discussion resulted in postponing the parliamentary vote for all three candidates and Brosius-Gersdorf ultimately withdrawing her candidacy in early August.

Nevertheless, local efforts are continuing – especially in Berlin. “There are many ways to get involved: join local demonstrations, attend events, volunteer with feminist or reproductive rights groups, help spread information in your communities, or support organisations with donations or skills,” says Bajramović. “Abortion rights are a global issue, and solidarity makes a difference – especially in a city like Berlin, where diverse voices can lead to real political pressure.”