[2] Upon learning that their fetus was diagnosed with Down syndrome, Tim's parents sought a late-term abortion at the Städtische Frauenklinik hospital.
Tim's biological parents chose not to raise him, so he remained in a children's clinic in Oldenburg until March 1998, when he was taken in by a foster family.
[citation needed] In 2006, his foster parents were awarded the Federal Cross of Merit for taking care of the boy as well as another child born with Down syndrome.
[citation needed] Bundestag member Hubert Hüppe (CDU) also tried to press charges on the separate grounds that it was not clear whether a medical justification was present in this case, and because the doctor's duty of care had not been fulfilled for several hours, which he claimed defied Article 3 of the German constitution ("No person shall be disfavoured because of disability").
[citation needed] Initially charges of battery were supposed to be pressed against the physician who had performed the abortion and left Tim without any form of medical attention.