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 \u2013 for now.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s not technically legal \u2013 only exempt from punishment.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbortion is still treated as a crime, not as healthcare,\u201d says Jasmina Bajramovi\u0107, press spokesperson for the Alliance for Sexual Self-Determination (B\u00fcndnis f\u00fcr sexuelle Selbstbestimmung), one of the lead organisers behind the reform campaign. \u201cAs long as abortion remains in the criminal code, it continues to be socially stigmatised \u2026 Legal uncertainty discourages many doctors from offering abortions at all \u2013 out of fear of legal consequences, harassment or institutional barriers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nAbortion rights are a global issue, and solidarity makes a difference \u2013 especially in a city like Berlin<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Historically, access has varied across regions. The DDR legalised abortion in 1972, embedding it into routine gynaecological care \u2013 a policy never adopted by West Germany. Today, federal statistics show a new divide: southern states like Bavaria, Baden-W\u00fcrttemberg 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe situation is especially dire in many parts of Germany. There are entire districts without a single practice or clinic that performs abortions,\u201d says Bajramovi\u0107. \u201cThis is a direct effect of criminalisation: a medical procedure is pushed out of the regular healthcare system, with severe consequences for those affected.\u201d<\/p>\n
Berlin has the highest abortion rate in the country: 108 per 10,000 women \u2013 nearly double the national average. That\u2019s partly due to the city\u2019s robust network of clinics offering both medication-based and surgical abortions, often with multilingual support.<\/p>\n
\u201cBerlin is a very good place for an unplanned pregnancy because you have lots of options and good access to doctors and counselling places,\u201d says Dr. Jutta Pliefke, a Berlin-based gynaecologist who provides abortions through pro familia and is part of the Doctors for Choice Germany network. \u201cBut that\u2019s not like that all over Germany.\u201d She also notes there are \u201cno medical reasons whatsoever\u201d behind the current regulations, \u201conly political and ethical, religious reasons\u201d.<\/p>\n
Still, access in Berlin, like the rest of the country, depends heavily on bureaucratic literacy and financial security. The procedure can cost up to \u20ac600 and is rarely covered by insurance. People unfamiliar with the system or lacking fluent German face even greater challenges.<\/p>\n
Zoe, who moved from Taiwan to Berlin in 2021, found out she was pregnant in spring 2023. \u201cI was honestly shocked,\u201d 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 \u201czero\u201d German and relied on her then-boyfriend to arrange appointments. \u201cHonestly, I just trusted him to do all these communications,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n
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 \u201cwasn\u2019t proficient\u201d, Zoe says. When asked to rate her desire to keep the baby on a scale of 0 to 10, she couldn\u2019t answer honestly after her boyfriend responded first. \u201cI still remember this question, that was a really weird question for me,\u201d Zoe recalls. \u201cI didn\u2019t tell her like, \u2018Our relationship is unstable.\u2019 Even though I have the choice to keep the baby, it\u2019s because of the stress with my [boyfriend] that I might be forced to say \u2018No, 100%, I don\u2019t want the baby\u2019 \u2026 It wasn\u2019t private at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
Because she was just six weeks along, Zoe was eligible for a medication-based abortion. She took the first dose under a doctor\u2019s supervision, then the second dose later at home. In Berlin, the most common abortion method in 2024 \u2013 used in 54% of cases \u2013 involved Mifegyne, a synthetic steroid that induces a miscarriage.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The process never goes quite as it\u2019s meant to. \u201cIt never stays on these three days![](\"blob:https:\/\/www.the-berliner.com\/fd0305ae-943a-44b9-a341-2a7b19e10e07\"\/)
,\u201d says Laura Hessel, founder of Talk Abortion, an online platform aiming to destigmatise abortion. \u201cIf you get your consultation on Tuesday \u2026 the [first] day you could get your abortion is Saturday. No one works on Saturday.\u201d 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. \u201cIt elongated the whole process by one and a half weeks \u2026 and that\u2019s not unusual.\u201d<\/p>\n
While patients face delays, physicians navigate complex regulations. \u201cThe regulation, also for doctors who offer abortion, is so complicated,\u201d says Dr Pliefke. \u201cThey\u2019re different all over Germany due to the federal system \u2026 but we train and see lots of young, very motivated gynaecologists who really want to help their patients and offer abortion care.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nAs long as abortion remains in the criminal code, it continues to be socially stigmatised<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
ELSA and other representational studies also prove that public support for reform remains high. \u201cEven 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,\u201d Hessel says. \u201cThere\u2019s 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\u2019ve lost over half the doctors providing abortion in the last 20 years or if I speak about the feeling of stigma and taboo I\u2019ve experienced with my own abortion \u2026 they start to realise.\u201d<\/p>\n
This disconnect is what the Alliance for Sexual Self-Determination hopes to address through its ongoing campaign: Legal. Simple. Fair. \u201cA just and practical system would take abortion out of the criminal code entirely,\u201d Bajramovi\u0107 says. \u201cIt 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 \u2013 not just in a few big cities.\u201d<\/p>\n
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. \u201cIt was disappointing, but sadly not surprising,\u201d Bajramovi\u0107 says. \u201cBut silence is also a position. The delay doesn\u2019t stop the movement \u2013 it shows us where more pressure is needed. We\u2019ll keep going, because the need for change is urgent and undeniable.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a press release published the same day, CDU politician and Chair of the Legal Affairs Committee Elisabeth Winkelmeier-Becker stated: \u201cThe CDU\/CSU experts have already stated in writing that changing the legal framework for abortion would not improve the provision of care \u2026 I can only call on the initiators to withdraw this flawed and unconstitutional bill.\u201d FDP politician and Deputy Chair of the Legal Affairs Committee Thorsten Lieb also confirmed to t-online that his party wouldn\u2019t agree to the special session \u2013 despite the FDP generally supporting reform. An excerpt from their 2025 federal election programme reads: \u201cThe current state of care is completely inadequate. We must therefore address the political framework to ensure adequate care.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, local efforts are continuing \u2013 especially in Berlin. \u201cThere 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,\u201d says Bajramovi\u0107. \u201cAbortion rights are a global issue, and solidarity makes a difference \u2013 especially in a city like Berlin, where diverse voices can lead to real political pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photo: Sasa Florence \/ Repro Uncensored On February 10, over 300,000 signatures were handed over to German lawmakers…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":425575,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5310],"tags":[145342,2000,299,145343,1824,105,2603,1002],"class_list":{"0":"post-425574","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-germany","8":"tag-carnal-knowledge","9":"tag-eu","10":"tag-europe","11":"tag-german-law","12":"tag-germany","13":"tag-health","14":"tag-love","15":"tag-sex"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115206865812212278","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425574","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=425574"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425574\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/425575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=425574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=425574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=425574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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Photo: Sasa Florence \/ Repro Uncensored<\/p>\n