Topic: Reproductive Health
Country: Germany
Delegate Name: Lia Bommarito
School: Williamston High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Germany position papers GLIMUN 2017 committees
Globally, the struggle for reproductive rights has been an ongoing struggle, mostly since the feminist movements of the late twentieth century. Difference in the progression of reproductive health per nation is astounding; while some women in developed countries argue for the right to abortion, other women in developing nations struggle with more violent, pressing, and dangerous issues such as genital mutilation. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a practice often occurring in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, where the genitals of a female – usually a young girl – are cut off for non-medical reasons: religion, culture, and gender roles play a part in these “procedures”. Over thirty countries today have documented FGM. Regardless of cause, FGM presents an alarming situation; although it is a violent, destructive process, genital mutilation can be a hallmark of culture for these nations, and therefore insensitive for the international community to regulate. As for abortion, many nations’ affiliation with various religious sects can prevent them from supporting women’s access to abortion, and while their culture shapes these viewpoints, oftentimes women who cannot legally receive an abortion turn to illegal, unsafe practices. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), every 8 minutes a woman in a developing nation will die of complications arising from an unsafe abortion. While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cannot take a hard stance against one’s culture, the CDC recognizes that one main goal for reproductive health is improving maternal mortality.
For Germany, the journey for reproductive rights has been a long and perilous one. German citizens are allowed to receive abortions within the first trimester, and if there is a proven rape or incestuous situation, but otherwise, abortion is seen as a criminal act against a fetus. Contraceptives such as condoms are available publically, but if women want to go on any sort of birth control, they must be prescribed so by a doctor. Germany’s leading reproductive health organization is called ProFamilia, and it acts as a clinic and support center for women. If women are given permission by a doctor, ProFamilia provides safe, legal abortions, and also counseling, as well as information about sexuality, disability, and women’s health. It is a pro-choice center; however, much of Germany’s population is against abortion, viewing it as a violent and criminal murder against fetuses. Another of ProFamilia’s goals is to improve and address infringements of women’s rights in “(for example), Afghanistan.” This hallmarks another of Germany’s positions on the topic; although the nation itself is not incredibly pressed about furthering women’s rights, as they are in a comfortable position of progress, they feel that the international community features many nations whose law codes and cultures oppress women and do not address fundamental reproductive health.
Moving forward, the international community must prioritize. Nations like Germany (the United Kingdom, the United States, France) should not be the focus. While they are still struggling with internal activist pushes and calls to action, in comparison to many developing nations, Germany and co. are in a progressive and comfortable position. In relation to developing nations, Germany plans to focus on how culture and religion oftentimes subjugate women. While it can be a touchy subject, genital mutilation is incredibly violent and something that 80 percent of women said that she or her children suffered from in a 2015 poll of African women. It may be difficult to tackle because of its relation and importance to cultural ties, but Germany plans to begin an educational campaign targeting misconceptions about female reproductive health in willing developing nations. This campaign would focus on the misconception that some girls need to be rid of their sexuality or promiscuity – or cut in the practice of FGM – to be pure and ensure virginity for marriage. An educational program would ideally focus on lack of violence and the teachings of safe contraception for women in developing nations. This program would travel to different areas with higher populations, whether that is a city or village. Germany feels that the violence and subjugation of women’s health in developing nations, and in countries that are in the Middle East, Asia and Africa, is the most important and urgent issue relating to this topic, and therefore it is dually appropriate to focus more on solving than developed nations’. However, Germany feels that giving women limited access to abortion – say, in the first trimester – is also crucial to prevent unsafe and illegal pregnancies, which oftentimes raise the maternal mortality rate. In committee, Germany would prefer to work with nations such as France, Spain, and the United Kingdom, but also would like to collaborate with nations from developing regions, especially those with high FGM rates, such as Somalia, Sierra Leone, and Mali.
