More Restrictive Law on Late-Term Abortions Comes to Germany

Anna Wilkowska-Landowska

25.06.2009 German women seeking abortions at a late stage of pregnancy will face stringent consultations and will be required to undergo a waiting period of at least three days before a physician can make a final decision allowing the abortion, a new law stipulates.

Generally, according to the German abortion law adopted in 1995, abortion within the first three months of pregnancy is an unlawful act but not a punishable offense if a woman visits a counseling center first, although she is not required to explain why she does not want to carry the fetus to full term. Abortions are also permitted in certain cases after the first trimester, when they are often referred to as "late-term abortions." In German law, a late-term abortion is a termination after the 20th week of a pregnancy, when there is a risk to the physical or mental health of the mother.

Late-term abortions are considered more controversial because the fetus is more developed and sometimes viable. Most late-term abortions are carried out when prenatal diagnosis reveals that the fetus has a severe disability. Statistics say that approximately 600 late-term abortions are performed in Germany each year, with 120,000 abortions total carried out every year.

The practice of late-term abortions in Germany is based on an article in the Penal Code that established abortion as "not punishable" when it is believed that the pregnancy or the birth of a child will gravely affect the life or health of the mother.

Discussions over late-term abortions initiated a few years ago. First meetings with church representatives were held in 2005, when it was observed that late-term abortions were on the rise. After years of debates, the lower house of the German parliament in Bonn - Bundestag decided on May 14, 2009 that women should be required to undergo a waiting period of at least three days before a physician makes a final decision on termination of the pregnancies.

As it is reported, among 612 parliamentarians involved in the vote, 326 delegates voted in favor of the consultation period which includes a doctor's psychological evaluation, 234 voted against and 52 abstained. Parliamentarians also voted in favor of increased consultations and support for families with handicapped children considering a termination. Despite several past attempts, the Social Democrats' (SPD) group and the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Germany's two coalition partners, have never managed to find a common ground on late-term abortions.

The obligation of counseling from a doctor about the medical and psychological consequences of a late-term abortion aims to reduce the number of late-term abortions. The doctor should also inform the patient about living with a physically or mentally disabled child, and point her toward other means of support. A woman considering a late-term abortion would also have a three-day waiting period between the counseling session and the procedure to give her time to think about her options.