The Berlin Greens are committed to ensuring that abortions are no longer considered a criminal offense. In a motion that has been made available to the Tagesspiegel and is to be submitted to the House of Representatives on Thursday, they are calling on the black-red Senate to launch a corresponding Federal Council initiative.
“For us Greens, the motto is: My body – my choice,” said Bahar Haghanipour, spokesperson for women’s policy and equality, to the Tagesspiegel. In English: My body – my decision. “Berlin, as an open and diverse capital, must demand in the Bundesrat that Paragraph 218 be deleted. We need a new regulation on abortions that fits in with our times.”
According to Section 218 of the German Criminal Code, abortions are generally punishable. Under certain conditions (compliance with the twelve-week deadline, obligation to seek counseling), the criminal offense of abortion is deemed not to have been committed and is therefore not punishable.
An expert commission appointed by the SPD, Greens and FDP recommended in April 2024 that To legalize abortions in the early stages of pregnancy. The traffic light coalition could enforce this with its majority in the Bundestag, but the FDP rejects a reform.
It is considered unlikely that a CDU-led Senate would launch a Federal Council initiative to put pressure on the traffic light coalition. The majority of the CDU is skeptical about abolishing the criminal offense.
The Greens said that the motion was also intended to force the CDU-SPD coalition to “show its colours”.
