(Berlin) – The German Caritas Association and its specialist association for social service for Catholic women (SkF) are strongly promoting the retention of the obligation to provide advice in pregnancy conflicts and for the applicable regulations in the criminal code. The actions of a doctor who carries out an abortion without a consultation certificate or against the woman’s will must not be considered legal, even within the first few weeks of pregnancy. A legal framework is needed that takes the rights of pregnant women and their children equally seriously, say the associations.
In view of the legislative proposal presented today by various women’s associations, SkF board member Yvonne Fritz points out that many women in conflict situations need support, protection and time to be able to make a decision. “Pregnancy counseling centers are regularly in contact with women who live in difficult relationships, are at risk of partner violence or are in financial distress. The obligation to provide advice guarantees that you will have access to advice that will support you in making a decision that suits you in often complex and seemingly insoluble conflict situations.”
For Caritas President Eva Maria Welskop-Deffaa, the obligation to provide counseling is becoming increasingly indispensable in order to support couples who find out about a possible disability in their child through prenatal diagnostic findings. “The way in which prenatal diagnostics are being used earlier and more regularly is putting couples under a lot of pressure to make decisions. Discrimination against disabled people and their families has long been evident here,” says Welskop-Deffaa.
Blood tests to determine gender or disability are possible from the tenth week of pregnancy. “Today, parents of children with disabilities have to justify their decision for the child. In these cases, it is not the abortion that is stigmatized, but rather the family with a child with a disability. As a society, we must ensure that parents are free to make decisions for their disabled child. We need an inclusive, non-discriminatory society from the start.”
The proportion of children born with trisomy 21 is already falling significantly due to the introduction of blood tests and their financing by health insurance companies. Today, the majority of parents who have a trisomy 21 diagnosis for their child decide to terminate the pregnancy. This is all the more dramatic as the blood test in younger pregnant women is often false positive.
Source and contact address:
German Caritas Association eV – Berlin office, Anja Stoiser, deputy press spokesperson, Reinhardtstr. 13, 10117 Berlin, telephone: 030 2844476, fax: 030 28444788
