Will German bishops be willing to be complicit in the decriminalisation of abortion in Germany?

Abortion Legislation

Next shocking moment: Chancellor Merz doesn't rule out changes to Section 218 of the German Criminal Code

The failed judicial election was a topic at the Chancellor's summer press conference. Merz dodged the question of whether he would campaign for Brosius-Gersdorf within the parliamentary group or vote for her.

Summer Press Conference with Chancellor Friedrich Merz

Merz stated that he assumed the judicial election would not be repeated until after the end of the summer recess in September.

At the summer press conference in front of the assembled press in Berlin, Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) criticized the way Potsdam constitutional lawyer Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf, whom the SPD wants to appoint as a judge at the Federal Constitutional Court, was being treated on social media, and did not rule out amending Section 218 of the German Criminal Code.

At the conclusion of the complex of issues that occupied journalists for more than 20 minutes, Merz said at the federal press conference: "What Ms. Brosius-Gersdorf has experienced in recent weeks is completely unacceptable. Some of the criticism expressed was irrelevant, polemical, at times personal, insulting, and derogatory. But this is an atmosphere that is not unique to this case. It is a general atmosphere, and I regret it very much."

Brosius-Gersdorf: Expanding funding for abortion requires its legality

The journalists had previously questioned Merz on numerous aspects of the case. Section 218 of the Criminal Code itself was also addressed. A journalist introduced his question with the remark: "Ms. Brosius-Gersdorf pointed out that the coalition agreement stipulates that health insurance companies will also cover the costs of abortions in the future. She also pointed out that they must be legal for this to happen. (...) Do you also support the fact that this change, as stipulated in the coalition agreement, should also come into effect?"

On Tuesday, the 54-year-old claimed on the ZDF program "Markus Lanz" that the expansion of abortion funding envisaged in the coalition agreement presupposes their legalization. It states, in fact, that "the coalition is in favor of expanding the statutory health insurance's obligation to provide benefits for abortions. (...) According to the jurisprudence of the Federal Constitutional Court, there can only be an obligation to provide benefits for abortions if they are legal. Therefore, the coalition agreement also assumes that abortion in the early stages of pregnancy is legal," Brosius-Gersdorf said on Lanz.

Merz: No one Is making compromises on the Coalition Agreement

Chancellor Merz stated: "What was agreed in the coalition agreement is going to happen. No one is making any compromises. And I cannot definitively assess what legal consequences this will have, and possibly also what impact it will have on Section 218 of the Criminal Code. I just want to point out that the right to abortion in Germany is based on the assumption that it is illegal, but remains unpunished under certain circumstances. Whether this construction will need to be changed if we make changes to social security and health insurance law, I cannot answer at the moment. My guess is that we will not have to change anything, at least for that reason."

Merz stated that he expected the judicial election to be repeated only after the end of the summer recess in September. Merz avoided questions such as whether he would campaign for Ms. Brosius-Gersdorf in the parliamentary group or vote for her himself. He explained that he would deal with the matter once he knew who was running for election in the fall.

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