If doctors used to provide detailed information about abortion options, they ran the risk of having to answer to the judiciary. Now the physicians are granted a right to information.
The Federal Council has given the green light to lift the controversial advertising ban on abortions. At the end of June, the Bundestag had already decided to delete paragraph 219a in the Criminal Code without replacement. In future, doctors will be able to provide detailed information about the possibilities of terminating a pregnancy without having to fear criminal prosecution.
Section 219a had previously stipulated that abortions may not be advertised. As a result, doctors could not provide factual information about abortions on the Internet without risking prosecution. Now the physicians are granted a right to information. Previous judgments are overturned.
However, to ensure that misleading and inappropriate advertising for abortions remains prohibited in the future, the Medicines Advertising Act will also be amended. So far, the law has regulated misleading advertising of medical products in other areas, but now abortions that are not related to illness are also included. This is to ensure that the lifting of the advertising ban “does not lead to gaps in the protection concept for unborn life required by fundamental rights,” according to the Federal Council.
