But many gynecologists and women’s rights activists insist that the change would not go nearly far enough — the law should be scrapped, they say, not just altered. They argue that by preserving limits on what doctors can say publicly about their practices, the plan demeans women, by suggesting that they cannot be trusted to make informed decisions about their own bodies.

“I am a doctor and I consider it my responsibility as a doctor to treat and inform women,” Dr. Kristina Hänel, a gynecologist who practices in Giessen, said in a speech she read out at one of several protests held over the weekend. “I consider it a question of conscience not to withhold such necessary assistance from women, leaving them instead to the coat-hanger or knitting needle.”

Abortion is legal in Germany during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. But under the current law, passed in 1933, it is a crime for doctors to publicly advertise in any way that they perform abortions; health care providers can only discuss the subject directly with their patients.

So while a woman can terminate a pregnancy, finding out where to go, or which procedures are offered by which providers, is a serious challenge.

Among its neighbors in Western Europe, Germany is alone in imposing such a restriction.

In 2017, Dr. Hänel was convicted of breaking the law and fined 6,000 euros, or about $6,850, by a court in Giessen, for stating on her website that she provided abortions and would send information on them, in German, English or Turkish, to anyone requesting it.