INTERRUPTIO
Ever since the gynaecologist Kristina Hänel was sentenced to afine for violating §219a StGB by offering abortion services on her website, the debate about reproductive rights in Germany has returned to the spotlight of mainstream political and media debate.
In February 2018 a majority in Parliament voted in favour of changing the law. However, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) retracted their motion for strategic political reasons and impeded the repeal of the paragraph that forbids “advertising“ abortions. Abortion in Germany, according to §218 StGB, is still a criminal offence but exempt from punishment if done during the first 12weeks of the pregnancy and after mandatory counselling.
Until today, §218 und §219a remain in force.
Using paragraphs 218 und 219a as a starting point, the documentary film project Interruptio (working title) aims to take a closer look at reproductive rights and justice in contemporary Germany.
Sexual and reproductive rights and justice are achieved in a society when all people have the power, possibility and resources to make meaningful and free decisions about their bodies, sexuality and reproduction.
By incorporating a mixture of private stories, interviews with specialists and with activists, the film attempts to shed light on the scope and multifaceted reasons why reproductive self-determination limited in Germany. Although the focus lies on the right to abortion, the related issue of the right to bear children and how this right is influenced by societal discourses and legal frameworks is also raised:
Who should be having children? Which children are desirable?
The project strives for an intersectional take on the topic, in order to widen the perspective beyond the narrative of the white, German, cis-hetero, able-bodied woman.
- RegisseurSara Dutch, Melanie S. M. Lyn
- AutorSara Dutch, Melanie S. M. Lyn
- KameraSvea Immel, Katharina Degen, Katja Grätzel V. Grätz, Donata Schmidt-Werthern
- produziert vonreprorechtefilm
- LänderGermany
- GenreShort Film
- Jahr2018
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Länge9 min
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ThemaAbbruch
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SprachenGerman
