Deadline regulation

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The term term regulation , also term solution , is used in connection with the termination of pregnancy . The deadline sees itself as the period of time measured from the procreation (conception) or from the first day of the last period within which a termination impunity is possible.

Different linguistic usage

The terms that also represent political keywords are not clearly defined across national borders. This begins with the controversial question of whether the solution of deadlines and the regulation of deadlines are synonyms , or whether one of the terms should be assessed as "neutral". Both generally designate the legal solution of the ethical problem , which is bound to a deadline, in distinction to indication models that are based on a reason. In language practice (in various German-speaking countries) the expressions are sometimes used differently.

There is also a broader use and narrow use of the terms. In the sense of the broader use, in some states it is a time limit solution / regulation if a punishment-free termination of pregnancy is within the decision-making authority of the woman within a specified period, but other restrictions may also apply, such as an obligation to advise ( pregnancy conflict counseling ) or the appeal to an emergency on the part of the pregnant woman. In the sense of a linguistically narrower use, this is only a deadline solution / regulation if the decision to terminate the pregnancy is exclusively bound to the deadline as such and there are no further restrictions such as an obligation to advise.

Germany should be mentioned as an example of a different use of the term: Termination of pregnancy is possible up to the 14th  week of pregnancy (i.e. up to 12 weeks from conception), but is subject to restrictions such as the obligation to give advice with a 3-day reflection period. Termination after the 14th week of pregnancy is only possible without penalty if there is a medical indication . This regulation is colloquially referred to in Germany as the time limit solution or time limit regulation. The German Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law, on the other hand, does not speak of a time limit for Germany. It defines the indication solution as the permissibility of the termination of pregnancy in the presence of - more or less restrictive - conditions that must be assessed by the woman herself or by third parties. The institute, however, defines the deadline solution as “permissibility of termination of pregnancy up to a certain gestational age ” - without further conditions. The institute describes the current German regulation as an advisory model and third way .

National legislation

Germany

With the fifth criminal law reform law, the deadline regulation was passed by parliament in 1974. This time limit did not take effect, however, and the law was canceled by the Federal Constitutional Court . In its reasoning, the court stated that the right to physical integrity also applies to developing life in the womb. The protection of this developing life results from Article one of the Basic Law, according to which state authority has to protect the dignity of the human being. In the opinion of the highest court, the embryo was not only part of the maternal organism, but an independent human being. This dominates over the right of the pregnant woman to free development of her personality , declared the highest court. The following four indications were excluded

This legal conception was brought into law in 1976 as a so-called indication regulation.
In the following decades, however, the indication solution repeatedly became the subject of broad discussion and public protests. The social indication in particular was increasingly interpreted further by doctors, so that unemployment or a low income was sufficient as justification. In 1993 the case law of the Federal Constitutional Court changed: The termination of pregnancy in the first 12 weeks after fertilization (i.e. up to the 14th week of pregnancy ) is illegal, but does not have to be prosecuted. With this change, a de facto time limit came into force in Germany .

In Germany today there is a de facto deadline regulation: Termination of pregnancy is illegal up to 12 weeks after fertilization (i.e. up to the 14th week of pregnancy ), but is not punishable if a consultation took place before the procedure and a 3-day reflection period was observed. Cancellation after the third month is legal if there is a medical indication that is given if a danger to the life of the pregnant woman or a danger of serious impairment of the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman is to be averted - and the danger does not affect others can be averted in a manner reasonable for them, Section 218a (2) StGB. Such a danger to the pregnant woman can be, for. B. arise when a comparatively serious disability has been determined in the unborn child. Consultation prior to termination according to medical indications is not mandatory, but the pregnant woman or the expectant parents are entitled by law. The effectiveness of the request of a pregnant woman to terminate the pregnancy is based on the rules of justifying consent. A minor requires the consent of their legal representative. In exceptional cases, the consent can also be replaced by the guardianship court.

In the GDR , however , the deadline solution in the narrower sense had existed since the law on the interruption of pregnancy was passed in March 1972. An overview of the entire historical development can be found in the article on abortion .

Austria

On November 29, 1973, the deadline regulation (family and criminal law reform under Christian Broda ) was passed by the National Council with 93  SPÖ votes against the 88 no votes of the ÖVP and FPÖ . On December 6 of the same year, the ÖVP objected to the Federal Council , but the law was nevertheless enforced in the National Council by means of a persistent resolution on January 23, 1974, again by the absolute SPÖ majority (92 to 89 votes). Thus, in Austria on January 1, 1975 the time limit regulation (§§ 96-97 StGB) came into force.

Until nidation (implantation of the fertilized egg cell), embryonic life is not protected by criminal law. From the nidation up to the opening contractions, §§ 96 and 97 StGB apply. From the time of labor or from the opening of the abdominal wall, Sections 75 (murder) and 190 (disturbance of the peace of the dead) apply.

According to § 97 StGB, an abortion is not punishable if it

a) is carried out within the first three months after the start of pregnancy after prior medical advice from a doctor, this is the so-called deadline rule or
b) if there are medical indications or
c) if the pregnant woman was underage at the time of the pregnancy. According to Section 21, Paragraph 2 of the Austrian Civil Code, those persons who have not yet reached the age of 14 are minors (criminological indication).

The three-month period is calculated from implantation and therefore lasts until the end of the 16th week of pregnancy from the start of the last menstrual period or the 14th week from fertilization.

The medical indication (Section 97 (1) Z2 StGB) includes dangers to life as well as serious damage to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman. This also includes embryopathic indications , i.e. H. Malformations of the fetus , such as trisomy 21 (note the difference between pre-implantation diagnostics and prenatal diagnostics . Pre-implantation diagnostics are prohibited in Austria, but prenatal diagnostics are permitted).

However, the decision to exempt the termination of pregnancy remained controversial. The positions from then have remained the same to this day: the proponents referred to the right of women to self-determination , while the opponents of the deadline regulation spoke of murder of unborn life. Austria's first woman minister, Johanna Dohnal , described the deadline regulation as a “great success of women's policy ”.

In Vienna , a law was adopted in 2005 to a legal recourse against radical anti-abortionists to have and to prevent them from exerting psychological pressure on women who want to enter the abortion clinics.

Switzerland

A time limit has been in effect in Switzerland since October 1, 2002. Up to the 12th week of pregnancy (from the first day of the last menstruation) the decision to terminate the pregnancy rests with the pregnant woman. She must sign a declaration that she is in an emergency, wishes to have the abortion and has received the legally required advice from the (treating) doctor. After the 12th week, a doctor needs to confirm that there is a medical indication. This means that the physical or mental health of women is endangered by pregnancy. The more advanced the pregnancy, the greater the risk. Advice from an approved counseling center is only compulsory for girls under the age of 16. Minors do not need parental consent.

(For the history of the period regulation in Switzerland, see Swiss Association for Impunity in Abortion )

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Deadline regulation ( Memento of the original dated November 2, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Frauen.spoe.at  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / Frauen.spoe.at
  2. ↑ Elfriede Karl : "Help instead of punishment" - How it came to the regulation of deadlines. In: Wiener Frauengesundheitsbeauftragte, MA57, Österreichische Gesellschaft für Familienplanung: Fachtagung Abbruch EU , study on the topic “Framework conditions and experience on abortion from a European perspective” on November 26, 2001 in Vienna, pp. 42–43 ( pdf , web link to the conference , both abtrieb.at);
    Johanna Dohnal : How the time limit solution was introduced 35 years ago and why the struggle must go on today. oA ( pdf , muvs.at); Deadline
    regulation , johanna-dohnal.at;     Deadline regulation ( memento of the original dated November 2, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Frauen.spoe.at cf. also motion for a resolution by MPs Strache, DI Klement, Rosenkranz and other MPs regarding deadlines, abortion - statistical survey of the abortions carried out annually in Austria . 649 / A (E) XXIII. GP introduced on March 13, 2008 ( pdf , parlament.gv.at)
     @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / Frauen.spoe.at
  3. ↑ A. Eser, HG. Koch: Abortion in an international comparison, country report Austria. Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft 1988. p. 1111
  4. ^ Vienna State Security Act, LGBl. 2005/35
  5. ↑ Art. 118-120 Swiss Criminal Code (PDF file; 23 kB)
  6. ↑ 15-year period regulation In: Migros-Magazin of January 9, 2017