Germany moves to scrap ban on ‘advertising’ abortions

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s justice minister says he will present legislation next month to remove from the country’s criminal code a ban on doctors “advertising” abortions, one of several more liberal social policies that the new government plans. The three parties that form Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government have long opposed the current rules, but they were defended by the center-right Union bloc of ex-Chancellor Angela Merkel, which is now in opposition. The justice minister said in comments published Wednesday that there is a “huge reform backlog” on social policy. He said the first step will be to scrap the provision on “advertising” abortions, which carries a fine or a prison sentence of up to two years.