Women's Self-Determination – No Freedom Regarding Abortion

"Self-determined pregnancy must become a human right," Alice Schwarzer wrote in 2018 in the feminist magazine Emma. Women have always had to fight for their rights. Since the 1970s, they have taken to the streets, amongst other things, for the right to legal abortion. The goal: self-determination and the medical, political and social guarantee of safe pregnancy terminations – without having to reckon with imprisonment or the health risks of an illegal abortion. 
Since then, some progress has been made in this direction. But the freedom to make decisions about one's own body remains a privilege that not everyone in Europe is allowed to have. 
Nevertheless, some states have since "legalised" abortion. In many cases, this means that they may be carried out within the first 12–16 weeks, depending on the legal situation, even up to the 20th week of pregnancy. Yet many doctors and pregnant people are in situations where imprisonment can follow an abortion. Not to mention the psychological consequences of the often traumatising social and political pressure.
For example, in Germany a pregnancy termination remains unpunished up to the 12th week, but only under certain conditions. The German Criminal Code calls these "indications". An abortion remains unpunished in cases of medical indications, that is, if there is a health risk or danger to life for the pregnant person. Furthermore, a criminological indication refers to the pregnancy resulting from sexual abuse. Additional factors in special cases are the so-called "eugenic indication", in the case of serious disability or malformation of the foetus, as well as the social indication, which refers to an extraordinary hardship threatening as a result of the pregnancy.
The German Criminal Code regulates legal pregnancy termination with § 218 (StGB) and § 219 (StGB). In any case, a counselling conversation is required at the latest three days before the planned procedure – it appears that the state wants to "review" the woman's decision first. 

Indication of free will?

In no democratic system is the indication of free will found with regard to abortion. How can that be? 
Presumably, the capitalist state has a strong interest in ensuring that enough children are born. Accordingly, the state is less concerned with the right to freedom of decision over one's own body, but rather with securing new generations of workers who are needed to keep capitalism running. This is why women are supposed to have children – sometimes more, sometimes less – depending on what the birth rate looks like at any given time. The aim is to keep it as high as possible; therefore, various means are employed to prevent it from flattening out. One of these means is the restriction of abortion. However, this undermines women's right to self-determination and subordinates it to economic interests. 
Whilst in Germany abortion is decriminalised under the stated indications, women in far too many other states have no legal support whatsoever in their decision. For example, in Malta all abortion is illegal and is strictly prosecuted under criminal law. This has the consequence that pregnant women find themselves forced to travel to other states and undergo abortion illegally, under more dangerous and unhygienic conditions, and with great fear of imprisonment. Furthermore, access to information about safe abortion is prevented in many states, including Germany. However, this does not reduce the abortion rate; rather, the risk of health-endangering illegal abortions with serious consequences for body and mind increases. A more pleasant and effective method of keeping the number of abortions low would be (instead of criminal prosecution and social harassment) to provide proper sexual education. 

Empathy instead of harassment

The failure to recognise women's right to self-determination undermines fundamental values of (decision-making) freedom, which in this case are clearly subordinate to the rights of others; the state places itself above the individual. Ostensibly to protect the unborn child – but can a child really have a good life if its mother does not actually want to be one? Who thinks of the person who must surrender her body to the will of others, if she is not to suffer legal or health consequences? Does the state bear the financial, temporal and psychological costs of an unwanted pregnancy and the subsequent lifelong raising of the child? After all, the uterus is being legalised here – the answer is still: No.
Some people find this discussion distasteful and many groups point to a lack of morality, infanticide and selfishness when it comes to abortion. However, one should appeal to one's own self-reflection and put oneself in the situation of those affected: Would I be willing to endure the physical and psychological discomfort of an unwanted pregnancy if I did not even want the child? Adoption is always an option, but the psychological consequences remain for a lifetime. Could I bear these? Would I be willing to give up my life at the behest of others and become an unwilling mother because my state forbids me to make myself the first priority in this case? 
A ban on abortion, as well as the restriction of legal abortion, is and remains a profound violation of women's self-determination. For decades, thousands of people have demonstrated and advocated for freedom of choice and the fundamental right to self-determination of human beings. When this will be fully recognised socially and politically remains to be seen. The fact is: nobody has an abortion for fun. Harassment and discrimination greatly exacerbate this already traumatising process. Self-determination is a privilege that is denied to women with regard to their own bodies. They should finally be allowed to decide whether and when they want to become pregnant: the right to planned and voluntary pregnancy must become a fundamental right.