The professional association of gynecologists has spoken out against the legalization of abortion. 23 Bremen doctors harshly criticize him.
Women in a day of action with the motto Now more than ever! against paragraph 218 Photo: Michael Schick/imago
BREMEN taz | How can abortions be regulated outside of criminal law? A commission convened by the federal government has been dealing with this issue for a year and the results will be presented on April 15. Now, a group of Bremen gynecologists is launching a serious accusation against their own professional association: this prevented the commission from taking into account the perspective of those, in addition to pregnant women, who are most affected by Germany's restrictive abortion law: doctors like them. perform abortions.
The residents of Bremen refer to a statement that the professional association of gynecologists submitted to the commission in October at its request, one of 39 position papers from various associations, clubs, religious communities and institutions on the issue of abortion. The scientists of the commission formed their opinion based on these statements: there is only one doctor who does not terminate pregnancy on his own.
Bremen gynecologists criticize the statement by the professional association of gynecologists as one-sided. In fact, the association clearly speaks out against legalization in its eight-page letter. He justifies his position by saying that paragraph 218 protects the interests of colleagues who do not want to participate in abortions. This is factually incorrect, because there are other legal and practical options to rule out forced participation in an abortion.
Another argument put forward by the association is even more outrageous: if abortion were no longer considered a criminal offense, there would be fewer doctors willing to perform abortions than now. That would jeopardize supplies. Because, contrary to what is portrayed “in public discourse,” this is good. The professional association cannot identify any obstacles.
“Serial offender” due to Section 218
Anyone who has been following the topic is rubbing their eyes at this point. It's true: reliable empirical data on the supply situation will not be published for the first time until April 10, when the results of the so-called Elsa study are presented. But it is already known, thanks to numerous investigations carried out by journalists, the first in Taz in 2017, that there are regions where pregnant women have to drive 150 kilometers or more to have an abortion.
Even in many large cities there are fewer and fewer doctors and clinics where this is possible. Pregnant women have to wait or take longer trips. Last year, consulting firm Pro Familia's magazine reported in advance on Elsa's study: After that, one in two women surveyed reported “difficulties accessing abortion.”
The 23 doctors from Bremen and the surrounding area accused the president of the professional association in a letter in November that the association did not take their interests into account with its statement. “We don't feel represented in any way,” he says. Because they rejected the existing legal situation because it patronized women and made them feel guilty. Furthermore, paragraph 218 makes them “serial offenders.”
The background: In Germany, abortion is considered a criminal offense that goes unpunished if the pregnant woman has sought advice, observed a three-day reflection period, and no more than twelve weeks have passed since conception.
The Bremen doctors also asked the federal association to publish an alternative statement by the gynecologists in the association's magazine. the gynecologist print. They wrote it together with about 70 other doctors from all over Germany, including Kristina Hänel from Giessen, who successfully fought against the ban on reporting on abortion. A small number of signatories do not perform abortions. The joint statement, which they also sent to the commission, calls for the removal of paragraph 218. It stigmatizes a medical service as a criminal offense and discourages doctors from offering it.
However, the federal association rejected the publication in the association's magazine and cannot understand the accusation of unilaterality. The statement, which was not marked by name, was voted on by the board, an email said. The taz asked the six members of the board of directors in writing if they themselves performed abortions. Nobody answered the question.
There are around 19,000 practicing gynecologists in Germany. It is unknown how many of them terminate their pregnancies medically or surgically. According to the Federal Statistical Office, there were recently 1,200 places that reported abortions. Several doctors can also work there.