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| An activist holds an "Abolish anti-abortion law" sign during a rally in front of the Constitutional Court in Seoul in this May 2018 photo. / Korea Times file |
By Kim Hyun-bin
The nation's human rights watchdog has voiced its opposition to the country's anti-abortion law, saying it violates women's basic rights and thus is unconstitutional.
This marks the first time the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) has called the law unconstitutional officially and submitted a written opinion against it.
While the Constitutional Court is scheduled to make a ruling about the law as early as April, it remains to be seen if the commission's opinion would affect the court's decision.
In Korea, abortion is an illegal practice, allowed only in very limited cases such as life-threatening circumstances, rape and incest. A woman who has an abortion can face up to one year in prison or 2 million won ($1,850) in fines, and a doctor who performs an abortion, up to two years in prison.
According to the commission, Monday, the court asked the commission to give its opinion on the issue for a review ahead of the April ruling. The commission then answered that punishing women for having abortions violates women's right to make decisions on their personal matters.
"Like the state cannot force pregnancy on an individual in a democratic society, an individual has the right to make their own decision on abortion and the state should guarantee it," the commission said in its written opinion.
"Childbirth is an issue that gives a great impact on a woman's life. But the law does not acknowledge her right to make own decision on the personal issue without being interfered with by the government authority," it said. "The ban is also a violation of reproductive rights, because all couples and individuals should be able to freely decide how many children they would have and when to have them."
It also said the ban threatens women's rights to health and life, pointing out the reality that a huge number of women have abortions and doctors perform the procedure secretly. A recent government survey said about 50,000 abortions were performed in 2017, while doctors' groups say the actual number reached 1 million.
"Since the procedure is illegal, when a doctor conducts the surgery, the women cannot demand doctors guarantee safety or take responsibility for any side effects," the commission said.
"We expect the court's wise decision, so the abortion ban would be abolished and women can live with basic rights."
The court is planning to make a ruling on the country's 66-year-old anti-abortion law in early April to re-evaluate whether the procedure, which is currently a criminal act, should be legalized.
The law has been brought to the court for multiple times. The latest ruling was made in 2012 when the court ruled in favor of the current law. The NHRCK did not submit an opinion at the time.
In recent years, a growing number of people have been urging the government to legalize abortion, along with the increasing recognition of women's rights.
Six out of nine judges will need to vote against the abortion law for it to be deemed unconstitutional.
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