3.81 Bavaria; the final inch (53)

Willard McCarty (MCCARTY@VM.EPAS.UTORONTO.CA)
Thu, 1 Jun 89 08:11:44 EDT


Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 3, No. 81. Thursday, 1 Jun 1989.


(1) Date: 31 May 1989 17:27:47 CDT (27 lines)
From: "M. R. Sperberg-McQueen " <U15440@UICVM>
Subject: How long a sentence...for performing abortions

(2) Date: 31 May 1989 16:32:28 CDT (6 lines)
From: "M. R. Sperberg-McQueen " <U15440@UICVM>
Subject: "The final inch"--source

(1) --------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 31 May 1989 17:27:47 CDT
From: "M. R. Sperberg-McQueen " <U15440@UICVM>
Subject: How long a sentence...for performing abortions

I'm coming in late on this discussion; I think the question as
to "how long a sentence did that doctor receive for performing
abortions" was a rhetorical one, and simply intended as a comment
on the continuing conservatism of Bavaria.

But, for the record, Horst Theissen was sentenced by a court
in Memmingen (Bavaria) to 2 and 1/2 years imprisonment; his
license to practice medicine has been suspended for 3 years.
Additionally, the women who obtained abortions from him were
fined up to DM 3000--and were publicly identified when called as
witnesses at his trial. (Ironically, one of the judges of the
court had to be disqualified, as he'd helped a woman friend
obtain an abortion.)

There's a very critical, front page article on the sentence
in the Die Zeit of May 19--where, it should perhaps be noted
for the context of this discussion, the author sees the division
of liberal vs. conservative on this particular issue as a
north German vs. south German one, rather than one that
splits Bavaria from all the rest of Germany. Bavaria and
Baden-Wuerttemberg are both predominately Catholic, whereas
much of the north of Germany, with notable exceptions such as
Cologne, are Protestant.
(2) --------------------------------------------------------------9-----
Date: 31 May 1989 16:32:28 CDT
From: "M. R. Sperberg-McQueen " <U15440@UICVM>
Subject: "The final inch"--source

The passage is from chapter 24 of Solzhenitsyn's
The First Circle.