The German cabinet has voted to get rid of paragraph 219a of the German penal code, which bans “advertising” for abortions - meaning doctors sharing information for abortion procedures on their websites, for example. This law meant that women trying to find information online about how and where to terminate their pregnancies would often land on extremist websites telling them they’d go to hell if they murder their baby (one such site I found while researching for an article was called babycaust- as in baby and holocaust. Yes, really.)
Now Germany is FINALLY getting rid of this archaic law. Women in need of medical information will find help more easily and doctors can provide this information (about a procedure that is decriminalized in Germany until the 14th week of pregnancy) without fear of getting sued.
There’s still more work to be done, but this is an important step for women’s rights to their own bodies, and for freedom of information. After way too much time, we can say f*ck you and good riddance to 219a!
image (c) Doctors Without Borders