The Question of Legalized Abortion
In the reichstag committee delegated to consider possible changes in the penal code of Germany, there was a prolonged discussion of the question whether, according to the new penal code, abortion should ever be permissible (that is, exempt from punishment), and, if so, under what circumstances. The paragraph pertaining thereto in the present penal code reads:Any woman who kills her child in utero or by abortion, or permits another person so to do, will be given a jail sentence. Any person who kills in utero or by abortion the child of another person will be punished in like manner. Any attempt to commit such an act is punishable. Any one who commits the act without the consent of the pregnant woman, or for commercial gain, will receive a penitentiary sentence. Any person who, for commercial gain, procures for a pregnant woman the means or