SPD sets ultimatum on reform of abortion law in Germany

BERLIN, April 23 (Xinhua) -- The German Social Democrats (SPD) have presented their coalition partners in the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU) with an ultimatum on the abolition of a so-called "advertising ban" for abortions on Monday.

The SPD confirmed media reports that it had passed a corresponding motion at its recent party conference.

Unless the CDU/CSU formally agreed to eliminate the "advertising ban" by the fall, the SPD would seek to cooperate with "reformist" delegates from diverse parties in the federal parliament (Bundestag) to force a decision on the issue in a free vote.

Paragraph 219a in the German criminal code bans doctors from advertising abortion procedures. The SPD, Free Democratic Party (FDP) and Greens (Gruene), as well as several non-governmental organizations (NGOs), have argued that the law also prevents affected women from accessing important factual information concerning the premature termination of pregnancy.

"The access of women in a situation as sensitive as an early, unwanted pregnancy to information which is important to them cannot be curtailed," a statement by the SPD leadership read. "Free access to factual medicinal information" on the subject was hence a "non-negotiable" demand for the party.

The SPD parliamentary faction has already presented a legislative motion to eliminate paragraph 219a in the federal parliament but has so far refrained from actually holding a vote out of fear of breaking up the current "grand coalition". The party's reform plans are supported by 26 associations and initiatives which complained about the legal uncertainty caused by the law to doctors in an open letter to the government.

Ulle Schauws, the women's rights spokesperson for the Greens, urged the SPD to "finally act in its responsibility as a member of government." Schauws warned the Social Democrats against allowing the CDU, and CSU to block progress on the issue.

Similarly, FDP parliamentary faction deputy leader Stephan Thomae said that SPD would be placing the harmony of "grand coalition" above the interests of affected women if it allowed the government to keep kicking the can down the road. "A majority for a change of paragraph 219a already exists in the federal parliament," Thomae said. Enditem