Hospital.Help

Berlin The CDU/CSU opposition in the Bundestag reacts angrily to a bill proposed by a group of representatives to legalize abortions in the first three months. Union parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz particularly sharply attacked Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who co-signed the bill as an SPD MP.

I am really horrified that the same Federal Chancellor, who repeatedly talks about cohesion, getting along and community spirit, appears with his signature on the list of this group proposal.

The aim of the initiative is to attempt to abolish Section 218 as quickly as possible at the end of the electoral period, said Merz. What the Chancellor is doing is scandalous.

It is an issue that polarizes the country like no other, and that is more likely than any other to trigger another completely unnecessary major socio-political conflict in Germany.

He called on the rest of the coalition not to put this proposal to a vote in the Bundestag. It is also an affront to the majority of the population, who do not want this policy.

As the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, we will defend ourselves against this with all our might, said deputy group leader Dorothee Br yesterday. She criticized the fact that facts should be created at the last minute before the new elections in February and for such an ethically and morally highly complex decision about ending human life.

Previously, MPs from the SPD and the Greens had presented a cross-party legislative proposal to revise Section 218 of the Criminal Code. It stipulates that in the future abortion should be legal until the end of the twelfth week of pregnancy. The three-day waiting period between consultation and termination should also be eliminated. In addition, health insurance companies should from now on cover the costs of abortions.

According to the organizers, 236 of the current 733 members of the Bundestag had signed the application by yesterday afternoon. MPs from the Union were therefore not there. The initiators hope for a decision on their application in January before the end of the legislative period.

To rush such a sensitive issue through the Bundestag is a scandal without equal, said Br. This shows how unscrupulously the Greens and the SPD now want to serve their interests just before, without a majority and probably ideally without a debate.

For the Union, the proposal amounts to a breach of the dam in our understanding of values. Br emphasized: From our point of view, there is no need to question the social consensus on abortion regulations.

The first parliamentary secretary of the SPD parliamentary group, Katja Mast, then accused Merz of not taking women’s important concerns seriously. His allegations divide our country, are ideologically charged and unacceptable.

Mast pointed out that important regulations remained in place, such as the obligation to provide advice. It is important that abortion of unintentionally pregnant women be decriminalized. This is what women and the broader middle of society are waiting for, explained Mast.

Abortions are currently illegal according to Section 218 of the Criminal Code. In fact, they remain unpunished for the first twelve weeks if the woman seeks advice beforehand. Abortion also remains unpunished if there are medical reasons or if it is carried out because of rape.

The abolition of paragraph 218 has been debated for years. According to the MPs’ proposal, abortions should become legal up to the 12th week. The obligation to provide counseling would remain, but without the current obligation to wait three days between counseling and abortion. If an abortion is carried out without a consultation certificate, only the doctor should in future be liable to prosecution. The woman would remain unpunished. © afp/dpa/may/aerzteblatt.de