>Curiously enough, Germany handles rules on abortion with an explicit law at the federal level, most other healthcare regulations being done at the state level.

>Curiously enough, Germany handles rules on abortion with an explicit law at the federal level, most other healthcare regulations being done at the state level. I wonder what the history there is. Perhaps it wasn't historically seen as particularly related to healthcare? Going on a tangent here, but one reason is that the law predates both the federal states (in their current form) and healthcare regulations. The relevant paragraph 218 StGB dates back to the creation of imperial law in the German Empire of 1871 and was later carried over by the successor states. Compulsory health insurance as a cornerstone of the federal healthcare system was mandated by Bismarck some 12 years later. (140 years ago, and some countries still dont have that, smh) But you're also right in that it wasn't made in the context of healthcare, but is actually a (priviledged) case of homicide law - which is obviously federal. It's got a quite interesting history really. I don't know how well this translates, but if you're curious, here's some in-depth info: https://www.bpb.de/shop/zeitschriften/apuz/290795/kurze-geschichte-des-paragrafen-218-strafgesetzbuch/ https://www.bpb.de/shop/zeitschriften/apuz/290795/kurze-gesc...