German Catholic women’s group provokes alarm with abortion document
‘At rallies organised by the pro-life movement, not only are anti-feminist, authoritarian and Christian fundamentalist ideas and positions disseminated, but they are also sometimes ethno-racist, homophobic and transphobic, or they downplay the Holocaust,’ the KFD paper alleged.
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The paper calls for free access to contraception, universal physical and mental healthcare in cases of termination, and the protection of clinics and advice centres. It said terminations should also be possible in Catholic hospitals.
A major German Catholic women’s group adopted a document on pregnancy-related crises that caused controversy among pro-life groups and other Catholic leaders.
During its national assembly on 4-6 June, the Catholic Women’s Union of Germany (KFD) approved by a large majority the publication of the position paper “Between protecting life and self-determination”.
It responded to debates about §218/19 of the German Criminal Code, the sections which regulate pregnancy termination and permit it in specific circumstances, mandating counselling and that abortions are carried out by a qualified doctor.
The KFD said that two years of discussion preceding publication had had brought out a common basic position of being able to hold in tension the “profound respect for life from the beginning and at the same time a clear obligation towards women in pregnancy-related conflict situations”.
It said the need to protect unborn life must not be reduced to preventing abortion but must include social responsibility after birth. Criticising the impact of male dominance in theology and the Church, the paper emphasised that women are entitled to freedom of conscience, dignity, physical integrity and self-determined decision-making.
The paper calls for free access to contraception, comprehensive sex education with each diocese appointing a contact person for sexual education, universal physical and mental heath care in cases of termination, and the protection of clinics and advice centres.
It said terminations should also be possible in Catholic hospitals with the costs covered by the health insurance companies.
The KFD also distanced itself from right wing pro-life activists, alleging: “At rallies organised by the ‘pro-life’ movement, not only are anti-feminist, authoritarian and Christian fundamentalist ideas and positions disseminated, but they are also sometimes ethno-racist, homophobic and transphobic, or they downplay the Holocaust.”
Cornelia Kaminski from the pro-life movement Aktion Lebensrecht für Alle (“Action for the Right to Life for All”) rejected this claim as “completely absurd” and lacking “any kind of fraternity but breathing the same aggression alleged of the pro-life movement”.
The former Bishop of Fulda Heinz Josef Algermissen said in response to the publication: “The KFD position paper may be many things, it may even mean well. But Catholic it is not.”
That a Catholic organisation should demand that abortions should also be possible in Catholic hospitals is “totally unacceptable and downright intolerable”, he said.
“It seems important to me that the Church not only upholds the right to life of the unborn, but also stands by women or couples facing difficult pregnancy situations and strives to offer them understanding and support,” commented the moral theologian Stephan Ernst.
However, he criticised the paper for failing to clarify that the right to life of the unborn child and a woman’s right to self-determination are not inherently incompatible but intrinsically linked.
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