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Berlin – FDP legal politician Katrin Helling-Plahr continues to push for the approval of egg donation, which is banned in Germany. She wants to submit a group motion to the Bundestag on this matter.

“The arguments with which the legislature justified the ban on egg donation or altruistic surrogacy over 30 years ago are no longer valid,” she told the newspapers of the Mediengruppe Bayern.

She has therefore decided to “contact colleagues from the other democratic groups this summer and invite them to work together on a group proposal to legalise egg donation”.

Against the background of medical and social progress since 1990, a fundamental reform of the Embryo Protection Act is urgently needed, said Helling-Plahr.

The egg donation ban is based on the Embryo Protection Act passed in 1990. The ban is based on the assumption that children of two mothers – one genetic and one giving birth – could have problems finding their identity.

Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP) also advocates a reform of the Embryo Protection Act – in the interests of researchers.

“The research field offers great opportunities for the development of effective therapies for previously incurable diseases or for the treatment of common diseases such as diabetes, dementia or heart attacks,” she told Media Group Bavaria.

In Germany, research can currently only make a small contribution to this in international comparison, because the Embryo Protection Act and the Stem Cell Act set too narrow limits.

The existing regulations are also a disadvantage for the collaboration between German scientists and international partners. “We cannot simply leave the field to others, but should use this important opportunity,” stressed Stark-Watzinger. A revision of the legal framework is therefore necessary.

The medical ethicist and lawyer Jochen Taupitz also called for the legalization of egg donation. The Embryo Protection Act is “a single prohibition law” and no longer up to date, said the Mannheim professor, who is a member of the Commission for Reproductive Self-Determination and Reproductive Medicine, to the newspapers of the Funke Media Group.

The fact that sperm donation is permitted but egg donation is not contradicts the principle of equality, stressed Taupitz. In Germany, there is massive interference with women’s right to reproductive self-determination – both for egg donors and recipients. “Egg donation is basically an organ donation and should be treated as such.”

In justifying the Embryo Protection Act, he said: “The fears of a so-called split motherhood have evaporated.” The same applies to the medical concerns. When the law was passed in 1990, the risks for the donor were greater, said Taupitz. But the procedures are now much gentler.

In April, the Commission on Reproductive Self-Determination and Reproductive Medicine presented a report in which it advocated allowing egg donation under strict conditions.

The document states: The reasoning behind the ban on egg donation, “in particular the aim of avoiding a split motherhood, must now be considered outdated and no longer convincing.” The committee also proposed liberalizing abortion law; the federal government intends to examine the recommendations. © afp/kna/aerzteblatt.de