Germans find access to abortion "too easy"

In total, 19 per cent (of the 2,039 respondents) think that abortion should not be as easily accessible as it is now. Less than half of the 2,039 respondents (42 per cent) of the survey disagreed with the statement that German access to abortion is too open. That is reported by Idea.

Younger respondents were more likely to be dissatisfied with the current abortion legislation. Of the 18-29 years-old, 21 per cent agreed that the access to termination of pregnancies is too open. Among 50-59 years old, this percentage amounts to 18 per cent.

The view on abortion also differs visibly between Christian denominations. Members of the (independent) free churches in Germany are the most critical of the abortion legislation. Almost half of them (46 per cent) think that access to abortion is too easy. Of the Catholics, this opinion is shared by 21 per cent, while of the Protestants, 17 per cent agrees.

The negative view on abortion access is shared by 24 per cent of Muslims, and of secular people, 15 per cent agree.

Growing number of abortions

The number of abortions in the second quarter of 2022 has grown by 11.5 per cent compared to the same period last year. In total, about 25,600 unborn children were removed from the womb, statistics of the Federal Statistical Office show according to IDEA.

During the first half of last year, the number of abortions had dropped to a historic low. It then amounted to 94.600 abortions in total in 6 months. The Covid pandemic could have been a reason for the drop in numbers, even though there is no hard evidence for this, based on the numbers of the Federal Statistical Office.

Of abortions in the second quarter of this year, 96 per cent took place after the prescribed mandatory counselling, Junge Freiheit reports. About 4 per cent of the women who chose an abortion did so for medical reasons or after sexual abuse. For most of the women (58 per cent) who terminated their pregnancy, it was not the first time they expected a child.

The number of abortions started to grow in the first quarter of 2022. PRO writes that significantly more abortions were reported then as well, compared to the first quarter of 2021.

It has been quite unusual for the number of abortions to grow. According to statistical data, the number of pregnancy terminations has declined in most years since 2000.

Marching for life

On Saturday, September 17, the March for Life will be held in Berlin. Thousands of participants are expected.

The Catholic German Bishops' Conference supports the event, Idea writes. Chairman Bishop Georg Bätzing thanked the organiser of the March, Bundesverband Lebensrecht. He said the bishops know "only too well that human life can be exposed to various dangers." Bätzing furthermore noted that "every human being is willed and loved by God for his own sake" and argued that prenatal selection is an unacceptable "presumptuousness" for Christians.

The German Protestant Church (EKD) does not support the March for Life.

Abortion is the worst form of discrimination. That is argued by Christian Starke in Idea. "Can there be any greater discrimination and injustice than denying unborn children the right to live", Starke asks rhetorically.

He points out that over 3.5 million children were aborted between 1991 and 2021. "They are also missing on the job market today. Germany's shortage of skilled workers would not be so great now and in the future if these children had been born. Now, skilled workers should be brought from abroad, who are then missing there. Other countries pay for our mistakes."