Germany Cabinet approves bill to scrap abortion law

After several weeks since the announcement of the new government’s plans to repeal a Nazi-era law regarding abortion, officials have taken another step towards striking down the law. The legislation that would scrap out the abortion law has been given approval by the cabinet.

This week, Germany’s cabinet of ministers approved legislation that will scrap out a Nazi-era law that would ban doctors from providing information about abortions. With the cabinet’s approval, the legislation would now be up for debate by both houses of the German parliament.

The legislation was introduced by Justice Minister Marco Buschmann on Wednesday, with Germany’s new government making good on the plans to strike down the law during the coalition agreement that was made back in November last year. To note, abortion is illegal in principle but is not punishable, especially under certain conditions.

Under the Nazi-era law, while doctors are allowed to say that they offer abortions, they are not allowed to provide any further information on the procedures. According to critics, the law makes it difficult for women to access information on the kinds of procedures that are available to them and who can provide them.

“It is an untenable situation that doctors who perform terminations of pregnancies and therefore are best-placed to provide factual information, must fear prosecution under current legislation if they provide information,” said Buschmann in a statement Wednesday. “That isn’t appropriate in this day and age.”

The minister for women’s issues Anne Spiegel said Wednesday that the government is set to establish a commission to further discuss the issue of reproductive rights.

Meanwhile, Buschmann has also announced that the country’s top federal prosecutor will be launching an investigation to gather evidence of war crimes Russia is committing in its invasion of Ukraine. Speaking with the Passauer Neue Presse newspaper Tuesday, Buschmann said that Germany would “collect and secure all evidence of war crimes” committed in Ukraine.

The federal prosecution office in Karlsruhe has opened a structural investigation to start collecting evidence, according to Buschmann. Buschmann also described the invasion as “a serious violation of international law that cannot be justified by anything” and must be “seriously prosecuted.”