Abortion in Germany should be decriminalized during pregnancy’s first 12 weeks, experts recommend [Video]

BERLIN – An independent commission reviewing abortion law in Germany recommended Monday that the procedure be made legal during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

Currently, abortion is considered illegal in Germany but not punishable if a woman undergoes mandatory counseling and a three-day wait period before she has the procedure.

Germany’s progressive government coalition of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’ Social Democrats, the Greens and the pro-business Free Democrats, had tasked the experts commission a year ago to look into the issue of abortion, which has been a hotly debated topic over decades.

Germany’s approach to abortion has been more restrictive than in many other European countries. Some German women have traveled to neighboring countries such as the Netherlands — especially during later phases of their pregnancies when abortion is considered completely illegal in Germany except for very grave cases — to have abortions there.

Other European countries are in very different …