I'm figuring that there is no law because German lawmakers didn't think of it, it's just too vile. You only bother to have laws against bad things you think someone might really do, right? You don't sit around thinking of hideous things. Maybe that's a mistake.
It happened in the USA once that I know of (Jeffery Dahmer), but he was convicted of crimes other than cannibalism. Is there a law against cannibalism as such in any state of the USA? Not arguing, only asking.
Apparently, this is a subculture in Germany, though most members of it are only fantasizers. Sick!
I'm not saying that incidence of cannibalism is higher in Germany than elsewhere, just discussing the law or lack thereof.
That Court TV article said that many areas don't have specific laws that target cannibalism.
Obviously if some people are eating the placenta, they manage to convince the doctor to give it to them (or they birth at home).
In Texas it is "illegal" to procure organs/severed limbs for compensation; it is possible that a hospital worker could steal such castoffs for himself (although the theft would be a crime that the hospital could persue).
Some mutilation of a living person (even consensual) is prohibited in America (there have been other incidents of men meeting over the internet to eat one of their sex organs).
I would say that there is a big enough subculture globally that there are several "chat rooms" on the internet that go beyond mere fantasy.
"There are about 800 cannibals in Germany" - Armin Menschenfresser said in statement to police.