A doctor sees a pregnant woman during a medical checkup at a clinic in Yeouido, Seoul. Some doctors say that the governmnent’s campaign against illegal abortions ignores the plight they face. / Korea Times File |
By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
Wrestling with a chronically low birth rate, the government has begun to tighten its control on illegal abortions.
A set of initiatives includes better services for pregnant women and tougher crackdowns on offenders, particularly doctors.
But critics are casting doubt on the feasibility of such measures, citing a lack of awareness on the reality facing many obstetricians.
Some doctors claim the initiatives may worsen the situation, calling for an amendment of the Medical Law that remains out of sync with reality.
A 38-year-old obstetrician recently closed her clinic in Seoul due to snowballing debts. Her consistent refusal to conduct illegal abortions for the past two years was mainly responsible for the closure, she explained.
When she opened the clinic in 2007, she didn't expect her no-abortion policy to affect the bottom line as much as it did.
"Frankly, abortions are very profitable," she said. "Doctors can earn hundreds of dollars, mostly in cash, in one or two hours by conducting an illegal abortion, while other, legal treatments for pregnant women take longer, but are less profitable. That's why many obstetricians running private clinics conduct the illegal act despite the risk of being punished."
The doctor stressed that as long as abortion remains more profitable than legal treatments for pregnant women, anti-abortion campaigns and initiatives will continue to be ineffective.
According to a study by the Ministry of Health and Welfare in 2005, a total of 342,433 abortions were conducted nationwide, while 435,031 babies were born in the same year.
But activists call these numbers the tip of the iceberg, estimating that the actual number is around 1.5 to 2 million each year.
Except for special circumstances, abortions are outlawed here. Doctors found guilty of breaching the law could face up to two years in prison and women undergoing the procedure can face up to one year in prison or fines of up to two million won.
The exceptions include pregnancies resulting from incest and rape and a grave threat to the mother's life.
Despite the penalties, another study in 2005 found that nearly 80 percent of clinics here conducted abortions illegally.
"Abortions are a great temptation to profit-conscious doctors," said Choi Ahn-na, a spokesperson for a group of obstetricians against abortion. "This is apparently an act against morality as a medical doctor but that's the reality."
More than 680 members of Choi's group recently joined the campaign, stressing doctors' original duty of protecting human life and their desire to help Korea move away from what they called its long-standing stigma as a "paradise of abortions."
Rep. Hong Il-pyo of the ruling Grand National Party will hold a conference dealing with a variety of abortion-related issues, including the need to revamp the payment system for obstetricians, at the National Assembly, Thursday.
Based on the results, the legislator plans to submit a bill for the amendment of the Medical Law.
pss@koreatimes.co.kr
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