German doctor fined again over abortion advertising ban

German doctor fined again over abortion advertising ban

by The Associated Press
Posted Dec 12, 2019

BERLIN — A German doctor has been convicted for the second time of violating a ban on advertising abortions in a case that has become a rallying point for opponents of the law.

News agency dpa reported Thursday that Kristina Haenel was fined 2,500 euros ($2,775) by the state court in the central city of Giessen. Alongside the fine, it made clear that it wasn’t convinced the law is in line with Germany’s constitution.

Continued: https://www.citynews1130.com/2019/12/12/german-doctor-fined-again-over-abortion-advertising-ban/

12.12.2019

Paragraph 219a German criminal code

Europe

Germany

Law

Activists in Germany demand legalization of abortion

Activists in Germany demand legalization of abortion
Abortion in Germany, while pratically possible for most women, technically remains a criminal offence in all cases. Opponents of the laws want a full legalization, but that alone won't improve access, some activists say.

27.09.2019
Clara Suchy

There, in the German Criminal Code, between the laws on murder and abandonment, sit paragraphs 218 and 219. They pertain to — and criminalize — abortion in Germany. On Saturday, activists will be taking to the streets to demand the paragraphs' removal as part of a global abortion rights demonstration.

Sarah Thibol, activist with the feminist organization Frauen*Kollektiv in Cologne, is one of many planning to protest. Her personal goal is "that women realize abortions are not legal in German. So many people are surprised the first time they hear that."

Continued: https://www.dw.com/en/activists-in-germany-demand-legalization-of-abortion/a-50613936

German doctor fined for advertising abortion under law that goes back to Hitler’s Reich

German doctor fined for advertising abortion under law that goes back to Hitler’s Reich

Kristina Völk and Peter Conradi, Giessen
July 14 2019
The Sunday Times

Tucked away in a nondescript modern building between a mobile phone shop and a branch of McDonald’s, Kristina Hänel’s surgery seems at first glance typical of countless GP practices across Germany. The plate outside the door gives only her name, followed by “Specialist in general medicine”.

Yet Hänel, 62, from Giessen, a university town north of Frankfurt, is at the forefront of a protracted battle being waged in Germany’s courts, media and parliament to change restrictive abortion laws that date back to the Nazi era.

Continued: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/world/german-doctor-fined-for-advertising-abortion-under-law-that-goes-back-to-hitlers-reich-m6kpxc3vv

German court fines two doctors over abortion ‘advertising’

German court fines two doctors over abortion 'advertising'

Date created : 14/06/2019
Berlin (AFP)

A German court Friday fined two gynaecologists for offering information online about their abortion services, rekindling an emotional row over a Nazi-era law banning practitioners from advertising pregnancy terminations.

German law allows abortions but effectively discourages them through various hurdles, including the law in question, Article 219a, which dates to May 1933, shortly after Adolf Hitler took power.

Continued: https://www.france24.com/en/20190614-german-court-fines-two-doctors-over-abortion-advertising-0

German Cabinet backs compromise in abortion dispute

German Cabinet backs compromise in abortion dispute

By Associated Press
February 6

BERLIN — Germany’s Cabinet on Wednesday approved legislation that would loosen, but not scrap, a ban on doctors “advertising” abortions, in an attempt to bridge a divide between the country’s governing parties.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s junior governing partners, the center-left Social Democrats, wanted to remove the ban from Germany’s criminal code. It provides for a fine or a prison sentence of up to two years. But Merkel’s center-right party insisted it should stay.

Continued: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/german-cabinet-backs-compromise-in-abortion-dispute/2019/02/06/cce50b68-29f7-11e9-906e-9d55b6451eb4_story.html

06.02.2019

German Medical Association

Paragraph 219a German criminal code

German Cabinet approves revised abortion law

German Cabinet approves revised abortion law
Under the new abortion law, medical professionals and organizations could state that they carry out abortions. The reform has been criticized by some health professionals who say it prevents access to useful information.

Feb 6, 2019

The German Cabinet on Wednesday approved a compromised amendment to the law which currently bans medical professionals and clinics from even mentioning that they offer abortions.

The compromise proposal would continue to ban the "advertising" of abortions — also the word used to describe the current restrictions — but would in future allow practitioners to at least say whether they provide abortions or not.

Continued: https://www.dw.com/en/german-cabinet-approves-revised-abortion-law/a-47382601

Germany’s cabinet approves revision to Nazi-era abortion law

Germany's cabinet approves revision to Nazi-era abortion law
Doctors are currently banned from advertising services and offering information online

Emily Schultheis in Berlin
Wed 6 Feb 2019

Germany’s cabinet has approved a revision to the country’s controversial, Nazi-era abortion law, a move that – pending parliamentary approval – would allow doctors and medical associations to provide women with more information about where and how to seek abortions.

Under the current law – paragraph 219a of Germany’s criminal code – doctors are prohibited from advertising abortion services or providing information about abortions on their websites. German law allows abortions during the first trimester, but uses various measures, such as the advertising ban, which came into force in 1933, to in effect discourage women from obtaining them.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/feb/06/germany-cabinet-approve-revision-nazi-era-abortion-law-paragraph-219a-doctor-advertising-ban

06.02.2019

German Medical Association

Paragraph 219a German criminal code

Explained: Germany’s plans to change controversial abortion laws

Explained: Germany's plans to change controversial abortion laws

Rachel Loxton
30 January 2019

Germany has agreed in principle to easing a Nazi-era law that makes it illegal for doctors to provide information on abortion services. But the move has received mixed reactions. Here’s what you need to know.

Why is abortion in the news? Germany is proposing to soften paragraph 219a which makes it a crime for doctors to ‘advertise’ abortions and share information on terminating unwanted pregnancies.

Continued: https://www.thelocal.de/20190130/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-proposed-changes-to-germanys-abortion-law

A Hitler-Era Abortion Law Haunts Merkel, and Germany

A Hitler-Era Abortion Law Haunts Merkel, and Germany

By MELISSA EDDY
MARCH 27, 2018

BERLIN — She was an obscure gynecologist in a central German town who never intended to stoke a debate that is driving a wedge into Chancellor Angela Merkel’s new government. But faced with a fine under a Nazi-era law for publishing information about abortion on the website of her gynecological practice, Kristina Hänel said she had no choice but to publicize a prohibition that she calls “outdated and unnecessary.”

The law, paragraph 219a of the German criminal code, makes it a crime for doctors to publicly advertise in any way that they perform abortions, even though they are permitted in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. For decades, the advertising ban was largely overlooked. Many gynecologists who listed abortion among their offerings to prospective patients say they were not aware of its existence until they received notice from a prosecutor informing them of legal proceedings against them.

Continued: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/27/world/europe/germany-nazi-era-abortion-law.html

The German parliament is split over a Nazi-era abortion law that punishes doctors

The German parliament is split over a Nazi-era abortion law that punishes doctors

by Jill Petzinger
March 15, 2018

One of the first orders of business for the freshly-formed government in Berlin next week was meant to be a vote on striking a law introduced by the Nazis in the 1930s, making it illegal for doctors to publicly say that they offer abortion services or abortion advice.

In a country as progressive as Germany, it may surprise some people to know that under section 219a of the criminal code, a medical professional is forbidden to publicly “offer, announce, or advertise” abortion services. Breaking the law is punishable with a fine or up to two years in prison.

Continued: https://qz.com/1228962/the-german-parliament-is-split-over-a-nazi-era-abortion-law-that-punishes-doctors/

15.03.2018