Advocating for a Decriminalized Approach: Medical Professionals Call for Legal Recognition of Abortions Separate from Criminal Laws
German Medical Assembly Urges Caution in Abortion Debate
Leipzig - The 129th German Medical Assembly 2025 calls for political leaders to exercise restraint in the ongoing debate surrounding the legal regulation of abortion. The medical profession must play a pivotal role in this discourse. The assembly's resolutions, issued today, emphasize that both the right of women to reproductive autonomy and the right of the unborn to life should be considered.
Doctors' personal conscience decisions regarding abortion remain their prerogative, according to the assembly. Those who choose to perform the procedure must be safeguarded from harassment, threats, and aggression. However, no doctor should be obligated to carry out this procedure, except in legal situations such as when the pregnancy threats the mother's life.
Currently, the counseling regulation is detailed in Section 218a paragraph 1 of the German Criminal Code. This legislation considers the termination of unwanted pregnancies unlawful but still punishable if the necessary counseling is sought and the abortion occurs within the initial 12 weeks after conception. The assembly advocates for the conditions enabling timely abortions to be regulated outside the Criminal Code. The obligatory counseling should remain.
The assembly asserts that this move strengthens the care provided to women with unwanted pregnancies and the legal certainty of doctors performing abortions. Mandatory counseling is also vital to protecting unborn life. timely counseling and care services prevent time-pressure-induced decisions, as the risk of complications increases the later the intervention.
Furthermore, the assembly emphasized that the performance of abortions must only be entrusted to specialists in gynecology and obstetrics. Abortion should remain subject to a doctor's discretion and may only be performed in institutions providing necessary post-care, as stipulated in the Pregnancy Conflict Act. Accessibility for both surgical and medical abortion methods should be readily available in all regions of Germany to empower affected women in their choices.
The resolutions from the 2025 German Medical Assembly pertaining to abortion can be accessed here.
Sources: German Medical Association, 30th May 2025
Photo: Dr. Klaus Reinhardt (c) Christian Glawe-Griebel / Helliwood
In terms of related information, the German Synodal Committee in May 2025 discussed conscience decisions in the context of contraception, but specificallyaddressed abortion. Global discussions on abortion rights are ongoing, focusing on protective measures and expanding access under various legal and ethical frameworks.
The 2025 German Medical Assembly urges policy-and-legislation makers to exercise caution in the ongoing debate about abortion, emphasizing the role of science- and health-and-wellness in the discussion. The assembly advocates for other medical-conditions, such as the mother's health, to be considered, as well as the rights of the unborn.
Personal conscience decisions regarding abortion remain a doctor's prerogative, but they should not be obligated to perform the procedure, except in legal situations. The assembly suggests that the conditions enabling timely abortions should be regulated outside the Criminal Code.
The assembly emphasizes the importance of counseling in women's health, advocating for it to remain obligatory. Abortion should only be performed by specialists in gynecology and obstetrics, in institutions providing necessary post-care. The assembly also calls for accessibility to both surgical and medical abortion methods in all regions of Germany.
Global news on abortion rights continues to focus on protective measures and expanding access under various legal and ethical frameworks, a topic also addressed in the 2025 German Synodal Committee discussions on conscience decisions in the context of contraception and abortion.
