A quick search on the old Internet of tubes turned up this factoid:
"In Nazi Germany, abortion was strictly prohibited, as “Aryan” women were to reproduce to increase the “master race”. Abortion was declared an act against the state; the death penalty was introduced in 1943.2
Under the previous regime, the Weimar Republic, birth control information had been widely disseminated. In 1933, birth control centres were closed and the advertising of contraceptives stopped. Women were encouraged not to work and financial incentives were introduced to encourage childbearing. Joseph Goebbels, propaganda minister for Hitler, made the following claim about women’s proper role:
“The mission of woman is to be beautiful and to bring children into the world. This is not at all as rude and unmodern as it sounds. The female bird pretties herself for her mate and hatches the eggs for him. In exchange, the mate takes care of gathering the food and stands guard and wards off the enemy.”45
In contrast, Jewish women were forced to have abortions; both abortion and sterilization were used by the state against groups which it considered racially undesirable.
Also from the same site:
"In Nazi-occupied France, abortion laws were made extremely stringent during 1940/41.2 The Penal Code was extended by court decrees so that even a non-pregnant woman or one who was unsuccessful in her abortion attempt could be deemed guilty of a criminal offense. A special state court whose judgment could not be appealed was set up and trials were convened. In 1942 the death penalty for abortion was invoked, when, following the example of Nazi Germany, it was declared an act against the state. A laundress, Madame Giraud, was convicted on the charge of having performed 26 illegal abortions and was the last person to be executed under the harsh conditions of Occupied France. Following the liberation of France in 1944, the death penalty was rescinded and the special state court abolished.2"
It just goes to show that the extermination of Jews and Communists wasn't the only reason Pope Pacelli jumped into bed with the Nazis.
From the same site:
Portugal is a predominantly Catholic country where the Church has vigorously opposed any attempts to liberalize abortion laws.
In February, 1984, the Portuguese parliament passed a bill allowing limited abortion. The act waives prosecution in cases of fetal deformity, rape, danger to the woman’s life, or serious damage to her mental or physical health. The existence of these circumstances must be certified by two physicians, and a three-day waiting period is required.71 It also legalized sterilization of those aged 25 and over.
Because of the unwillingness of many doctors to provide the service, the majority of abortions are still performed illegally in private clinics.
The first abortion to be carried out under the law was performed on a 15-year-old girl who had been raped by her father. The president of the Portuguese Bishops’ Conference was quoted as saying that she “ought to have been helped to accept her pregnancy as a form of martyrdom."72
maybe they should all meet up with max mosley?
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