GERMANY - Decriminalization of Abortion Recommended
Germany’s progressive government coalition of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’ Social Democrats, the Greens and the pro-business Free Democrats, had tasked the experts commission a year ago to look into the issue of abortion, which has been a hotly debated topic over decades.
Germany’s approach to abortion has been more restrictive than in many other European countries. Some German women have traveled to neighboring countries such as the Netherlands—especially during later phases of their pregnancies when abortion is considered completely illegal in Germany except for very grave cases—to have abortions there.
“Our recommendation is to move away from this illegality and to label abortion in the early stages of pregnancy as legal,” Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf, a law professor who is a member of the commission, told reporters in Berlin.
Currently, about 10% of physicians performing the medical intervention have faced criminal charges, though they are almost never found guilty.
The Catholic Church, one of the main opponents of liberalizing abortion regulations in Germany, quickly condemned the commission’s recommendations.
“The commission is considering legalizing abortion in the early stages of pregnancy. This would mean the end of a clear concept of life protection,” said Irme Stetter-Karp, the president of the powerful lay group Central Committee of German Catholics.
“Human dignity exists from the very beginning,” said Irme Stetter-Karp, calling the proposal “unacceptable.”
-abcnews.go.com, 15 April 2024
Arno's Commentary
A Google search states that Germany needs “400,000 skilled workers annually.” A chart published by the OECD shows the percentage of foreign born in 2019: Luxembourg tops the list with 47.3%, Switzerland 29.7%, Germany 16.1%, and the USA 13.6%.
Declining birth rates correlate to prosperity and luxury. Richer countries usually have less children per family.
Germany, being one of them, will be incapacitated in future years due to the lack of population increase. Thus, the answer is migration. A Google search reveals that during the last 25 years, 130,000-135,000 abortions were performed between 1996 and 2002. Since 2016, the
abortion rate has stabilized at about 100,000 per year. What an irony: the Germans, just like any other nation, are proud of their country and only accept foreigners with reluctance, but facts and figures show that foreigners are needed more than ever.
Regarding abortion, our position is crystal clear: It’s murder! A parents.com article reports: “Babies are born with a complete sensory system, including sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing. In the womb, babies spend most of their time sleeping, but when they are awake, they experience various sensations, such as hearing the muffled sounds of their gestational parent’s heartbeat.”
It was David who wrote: “For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them” (Psalm 139:13-16).
Arno Froese is the executive director of Midnight Call Ministries and editor-in-chief of the acclaimed prophetic magazines Midnight Call and News From Israel. He has authored a number of well-received books, and has sponsored many prophecy conferences in the U.S., Canada, and Israel. His extensive travels have contributed to his keen insight into Bible prophecy, as he sees it from an international perspective.
