Abortion opposition and Christian (fundamentalist) influences on abortion care: Implications from a medical ethics perspective

This paper examines the influence of Christian and Christian fundamentalist actors on abortion care in Germany from a medical ethics and health sciences perspective. Drawing on 42 qualitative expert interviews with gynaecologists and certified abortion counsellors, it analyses how anti-abortion activism—closely intertwined with Christian fundamentalism—shapes institutional practices, socio-political discourses, and individual professional experiences. At the institutional level, experts describe a normalisation of “institutional objection” to abortion, even in publicly funded hospitals. Structural refusal to provide abortions, often justified through personal or denominational beliefs of decision-makers, restricts access to care and medical training opportunities. At the socio-political level, interviewees report increasing pressure from Christian conservative and fundamentalist networks that align with right-wing populist movements. These networks disseminate disinformation through uncertified counselling centres, mobilise street protests, and lobby against reproductive rights, thereby contributing to the stigmatisation of both patients and providers. Experts warn that such developments risk embedding anti-abortion ideologies within the public health system and democratic institutions. Regarding future perspectives, participants anticipate further deterioration in the availability and quality of abortion care unless clear legal and political countermeasures are taken—such as limiting institutional objection and ensuring evidence-based training and information. At the individual level, the study reveals that several (liberal) Christian doctors and counsellors actively provide abortion care, motivated by compassion and a professional ethic of harm prevention. Their voices highlight the importance of protecting healthcare providers from the institutional and socio-political pressures exerted by anti-abortion actors. By situating these findings within debates on anti-gender politics and democratic backsliding, this contribution expands the interdisciplinary field of ECPG through a medical-ethical lens, offering an empirically grounded health sciences perspective.