§218

In the middle of Europe, in Germany, there is a rigid law, § 218, which has criminalized abortion in unplanned pregnancies for over 150 years now. But what exactly does this criminalization mean for the generation of our grandmothers, our mothers – and still for us? What freedoms does § 218 take away, what suffering is produced – and what exactly is actually protected? In the documentary project § 218 werkgruppe2 tells the story and meaning of § 218 for women in Oberhausen. In on-site research, women are interviewed about their experiences, archives are searched, and the political protest against the paragraph is investigated locally. What effects did § 218 have on women’s lives in Oberhausen, on family planning and sexuality? The research results in a documentary-musical production that unites biographies from 1945 to the present in episodes full of conflicts and contradictions and reflects again and again what § 218 means in a concrete life. A co-production with Theater Oberhausen