Abortion: Seven celebrities name for the tip of paragraph 218 | EUROtoday
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Open letter
Celebrities name for the legalization of abortion: “Away with paragraph 218”
Actress Ruth Moschner, TV presenter Mareile Höppner and Microsoft supervisor Annahita Esmailzadeh would love pregnant girls to obtain higher care within the occasion of an abortion
© Bernd Jaworek; Future Image/Imago Images; Sapna Richter
Germany is discussing abortion once more. A fee of specialists suggests liberalizing abortion paragraph 218, however the visitors gentle coalition apparently doesn’t dare to implement it. This raises distinguished opposition. In the stern critics communicate out.
There are three numbers that criminalize one of the widespread gynecological therapies: 218. This paragraph makes abortions unlawful, though underneath sure circumstances they’re potential with out punishment as much as the twelfth week. For instance, unintentionally pregnant girls are required to have a session after which wait at the least three days.
In an open letter, greater than 100 celebrities are actually calling for this authorized foundation to be eliminated. The open letter states that its anchoring in prison regulation contributes to the “precarious care situation” for unintentionally pregnant girls. The initiators are Kristina Lunz from the Center for Feminist Foreign Policy and Annika Kreitlow, gynecologist and spokesperson for the Alliance for Sexual Self-Determination.
Expert fee towards ban: Will abortion turn into a elementary proper or will it stay a prison offense?
01:50 min
Scientific findings assist the claims of Lunz and Kreitlow. A number of days in the past, the ELSA research was printed, the primary complete evaluation of the care state of affairs for undesirable pregnant girls in Germany. Although abortions are one of the widespread gynecological therapies, these affected and medical employees expertise stigmatization and troublesome entry relying on the area.
One in 4 gynecologists who carry out abortions stated within the research that they’d been threatened or attacked in public. The variety of medical doctors finishing up the process has additionally decreased considerably: in 2003, based on the Federal Statistical Office, there have been twice as many as immediately. This implies that these affected usually need to journey greater than 40 minutes to obtain therapy – a further hurdle.
Legalization of abortion: why now?
The renewed debate was triggered by the outcomes of a fee, which have been introduced on Monday. 18 specialists from medication, psychology, sociology, ethics and regulation spent a 12 months finding out German abortion regulation and got here to the conclusion: “There is a need for a regulation that ensures the legality and impunity of abortions in the early stages.”
The visitors gentle coalition has commissioned the Commission, however appears to be shying away from implementing the outcomes. Responsible division heads corresponding to Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) and Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP) warned on Monday of one other “debate that divides society”. The RTL/n-tv pattern barometer on Monday, nonetheless, got here to a distinct consequence: a big majority of these surveyed have been in favor of legalizing abortions.
The open letter suits into this hole. It calls on the coalition to delete Section 218 with out substitute, to control abortion regulation outdoors of prison regulation and to abolish obligatory counseling and ready instances. This can be justified by the concern of a “shift to the right”: “The fight against right-wing extremism and the shift to the right also requires the defense and support of women's rights, as they are among the first victims of right-wing and right-wing extremist politics.”
“It's time to give women back control of their own bodies”
More than 100 celebrities signed the letter. At the stern a few of them say.
Regina Halmich, former boxer and world champion:
“No woman makes the decision to have an abortion easy. Paragraph 218 must be deleted in its current form because it criminalizes women who have decided against pregnancy. The compulsory paragraph has been in the criminal code for 150 years now – time to change it .”
© Regina Halmich
Aya Jaff, founder, dealer and creator:
“Section 218 should be deleted because the criminalization of abortion not only undermines women's empowerment, but also leads to dangerous and often deadly illegal practices. Studies show that in countries with restrictive abortion laws, the number of unsafe abortions and associated abortions Deaths are significantly higher. It is time to rethink these archaic laws and give women back control over their own bodies.”
© Sebastian Lock
Mareile Höppner, TV presenter (RTL “Extra”, “Stern TV am Sonntag”):
“It's about greater self-determination for women. We have to move away from a feeling of punishment, it's much more about individual advice and protection of women – not about guilt. That's why this paragraph has to be dropped. This topic has been an issue for me for a very long time Concern. My mother left the Catholic Church as a young woman in protest because she did not want to tolerate these condemnations of women and could no longer tolerate how men in particular took the liberty of judging women on this critical issue “We are speaking about new rules for medical doctors and ladies who’re confronted with such a call – however not on the idea of a paragraph from the nineteenth century.”
© Future Image / Imago Images
Maja Göpel, political economist and sustainability scientist:
“Framings are important, they shape our perspective on issues. Anchoring abortions in the criminal code starts from the perspective that women are initially socially obliged to carry a fertilized egg to term in every conception situation. And even if they were definitely not alone during conception , they are then solely responsible: as 'participants' in the abortion or, in case of doubt, in the care of the child, as it grows in their body, coupled with the findings on poverty risks for single parents and the inadequate recognition of care and child-rearing work in our society. An obligation to give birth soon seems cynical. Young women are not allowed to be sterilized either.”
© Anja Weber
Verena Pausder, entrepreneur:
“It's clear to me: In Germany we have to give more weight to women's right to self-determination. Anyone who deals with a possible abortion in the sensitive life situation of a pregnancy needs support and low-threshold advice and not legal paternalism. That's why I'm in favor of the decriminalization of abortion .”
© Patricia Lukas
Ruth Moschner, TV presenter and actress:
“Apart from the right to self-determination over their own bodies, unwanted pregnant women in Germany are currently being abandoned. An abortion is not something you do between breakfast and lunch. It is a major intervention, physically, but of course also psychologically, for those affected should be provided with the best possible care. This is currently not guaranteed due to criminalization, compulsory counseling and the waiting period. In addition, there are personal fears, financial hurdles and stigma.
[…] I still have the feeling that in many areas the female body comes last, whether it concerns the research area of gender medicine or the criminalization of abortion. Many downplay the hurdles and confront women in their emergency situation with discriminatory questions, but in the end women are pretty much left alone to make the decision.”
© Bernd Jaworek
Annahita Esmailzadeh, Microsoft supervisor and creator:
“The current law has problematic consequences for pregnant women, consultants and doctors. A new regulation is therefore appropriate. […] Some women in my circle have had abortions and I therefore know that the topic can not only be extremely painful for those affected, but is also socially stigmatized and taboo. Therefore, we as women who have a voice and visibility in the public eye must speak up for those who do not have this privilege. Women's rights are human rights and it is finally time to stand up for them together.”
© Sapna Richter
Sources: Centre for feminist international coverage, Elsa-Studie, Research in Health Services and Regions
Transparency be aware: The star is a part of RTL Deutschland.
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