Das Patriarchat im Uterus

“When the right to self-determined physical autonomy falls, the foundations of our democracy start to crumble,” according to physician Alica Baier. Just recently, her book Das Patriarchat im Uterus – Ein Plädoyer für körperliche Selbstbestimmung (“The Patriarchy in the Uterus – A Plea for Physical Autonomy”) has been published. In it, she describes the grave consequences of the fact that abortion steadfastly remains anchored in Germany’s penal code. Therefore, abortion is not, for example, a regular part of gynaecological training. Those who want to learn about it are relegated to do so in their spare time – as well as oftentimes practicing on papaya.

Book and lecture retrace the historic, political, and ethical dimensions of abortion. They show how politics are pervaded by patriarchal and deeply religious motifs and how the refusal of a few physicians and clinics, misogynist myth and a conservative gynaecology form bastions against self-determination. Abortion is not a “women’s topic” but rather a key social question: Who gets to decide about the female body? The current German legislation does not only cause great problems in medical practice but proves to be a gateway for right-wing ideologies.