Move Underway to Legalize Abortion
By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
Will abortion be allowed in Korea where more than 340,000 cases are reported a year? Now all eyes are on the government's plan to reform regulations related to abortion.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare said that it will seek more realistic measures to address the growing number of abortions in the country. Starting from holding public hearings in January, the government plans to change its Mother and Child Health Law, which bans mothers from aborting their children under ordinary circumstances.
The current law allows abortion only to those who have genetic, physical or mental disease, have been raped, or are pregnant through incest, or where a mother is at serious risk. Those who violate the law are subject to up to one year in prison or 2 million won in fines. Doctors who perform the surgery are also subject to up to two years in jail.
However, in 2005, there were reportedly 342,233 cases of abortion while the number of births stood at 476,000. Among the number of abortions, 11,700 were teenagers.
Since these abortions are illegal, many visit unlicensed doctors and put themselves at risk of post operative infection.
Abortion is one of the most hotly debated issues in Korean society.
At the ministry's seminar held on Friday, Prof. Kim So-yun of Yonsei University said abortion should be allowed to those who need to have one for ethical or socioeconomic reasons, adding that education on contraception should be a priority.
Prof. Kim Hae-jung of Korea University said some countries with looser regulations such as Japan, Australia and Canada have a lower rate of abortion than Korea, meaning that this does not lead to an increase in abortion.
Women's magazine Ilda reported that the issue should be about giving women full control over their bodies and pregnancy. It quoted Prof. Lee Im-soon of the SoonChunHyang University as saying ``Some women even consider abortion as another way of contraception, which is threatening women's health,'' asking for the government to revise the law. Some said the ability to give birth to a child is a woman's right and it should not be controlled by a governmental power.
Though many in society are starting to acknowledge the reality and admit the necessity to allow the surgery, there are still many who are against the idea of abortion itself.
Seo Jung-ae, an instructor at Ewha Womans University, said not all women having abortions necessarily want to have them but that social circumstances force them to go through with it. ``It will be better for society to provide social facilities to back these people even after they have a child,'' she said.