This Saturday, several thousand demonstrators marched in Berlin and Karlsruhe, seat of the German Constitutional Court, to “end the blaming of women” and obtain full legalization of abortion.
2 mins
Many young women, but also older feminists, far-left activists, many mostly young men were gathered this Saturday. They are calling for the removal of article 218, that is to say the decriminalization of abortion. In Germanywhere more than 100,000 abortions are performed each year, article 218 of the Penal Code makes abortion a crime, even if it is not prosecuted, under certain conditions. The demonstrators also want an end to compulsory consultations, aimed at changing young women’s minds, an end to the reflection period and free abortion.
“ That bad feeling, that you’re doing something that’s against the law, I can say from my own experience that it’s really horrible. Regarding abortion, the situation of women deteriorated with Reunification », denounces Luisa. “ There are a lot of women in my life that I talk to about this stuff. They say that it is a social issue for which they need the support of men », adds Anke.
Also readFreely dispose of your body: a fragile right in Europe
With this mobilization, the demonstrators want to include abortion as one of the central subjects of the electoral campaign for the February legislative elections and support a bill from social democratic and environmentalist deputies who want to change the regulations in force. Indeed, the decriminalization of abortion is an electoral promise ofOlaf ScholzLiberals and Greens. But this bill could pay the price for the upheaval of the electoral calendar following the fall of the coalition because the text risks falling by the wayside with the probable return of the conservatives at the end of the election.
According to a representative survey by the Forsa institute at the end of November, 74% of those questioned were in favor of legalization, both women (75%) and men (72%).
Also readEurope: abortion a fragile right