German abortion legislation was first codified in sections 181 and 182 of the Penal Code for Prussia (1851), which formed the basis for the Penal Code (Strafgesetzbuch) of the North German Federation (1870). On 15 May 1871, following the Proclamation of the German Empire, the latter code was incorporated into paragraphs 218–220 of the Penal Code for the German Reich, taking effect on 1 January 1872. Section 218 outlawed abortion, requiring a penal term for both the woman and the doctor involved. Legalization of abortion was first widely discussed in Germany during the early 20th century. During the Weimar Republic, such discussion led to a reduction in the maximum penalty for abortion, and in 1926 a court's decision – similar to the United Kingdom decision "R v Bourne" – decriminalized abortion in cases of grave danger to the life of the mother. Nazi Germany's eugenics laws severely punished abortion for Aryan women, but permitted abortion on wider and more explicit grounds than before if the fetus was believed to be deformed or disabled or if termination otherwise was deemed desirable on eugenic grounds, such as the child or either parent suspected of being carrier of a genetic disease. Sterilization of the parents also took place in some such cases. In cases where the parents were Jewish, abortion was also not punished.