A legal dispute that has lasted for years is over: the previous ban on so-called advertising for abortions is not being put to the test under constitutional law. The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe ruled in a decision published on Wednesday that the retroactive repeal of the provision by the legislature in July 2022 has eliminated the need for legal protection in this regard.
It did not accept a complaint from the Gießen general practitioner Kristina Hänel for a decision. (2 BVR 390/21)
Hänel had fought publicly for the abolition of the paragraph for years. On the website of her practice, she had made information about the medical possibilities of an abortion available for retrieval. She also provided information about the methods she offers herself.
In June 2022, the Bundestag voted to abolish paragraph 219a
Opponents of abortion filed criminal charges against her. The local and regional court in Giessen and the higher regional court in Frankfurt am Main recently sentenced the doctor to a fine of 2,500 euros. The background is the former Section 219a of the Criminal Code. According to this, anyone who offers abortions “publicly” and also “because of their pecuniary advantage or in a grossly offensive manner” is liable to prosecution.
Hänel lodged a constitutional complaint against her conviction and this paragraph. In the meantime, however, paragraph 219a has been completely and retrospectively repealed. The Federal Constitutional Court has now ruled that Hänel’s legal protection objective has thus been dealt with. It therefore did not accept the complaint for decision. Hänel was “comprehensively rehabilitated” by the change in the law.
A new conviction is ruled out because of the deletion of the paragraph. In principle, there is no general interest in having the constitutionality of the old law clarified.
Hänel also stated that the fine she had paid had not yet been reimbursed. The Federal Constitutional Court emphasized that the doctor’s money should actually have been reimbursed “officially” without being asked. But you can be expected to do this in court if necessary.
In June last year, the Bundestag decided by a large majority to remove the ban on advertising for abortions from the penal code. Members of the SPD, the Greens, the FDP and the left voted to abolish paragraph 219a, Union and AfD against.
According to the law, doctors who carry out abortions within the legal framework should no longer have to expect criminal prosecution if they provide factual information about the process and methods of an abortion.
On the other hand, women should have easier access to appropriate technical information. At the time, Hänel was one of the guests on the Bundestag grandstand. Her conviction in 2017 had sparked the debate. (AFP, KNA, dpa)
Source: Tagesspiegel
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