Support for Unwed Moms Suggested
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
A group of pro-life activists called on policymakers Thursday to support single mothers, saying that discrimination and bias against them leads some to opt for abortion.
They recommended that the government set up funds and other supportive measures for single moms in order to reduce the number of abortions.
A 2005 survey conducted by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family Affairs found that 96 percent of unwed women who chose abortion did so due to social discrimination and monetary reasons.
Choi An-na, an obstetrician and gynecologist representing a group of concerned doctors, said now was the time for the government to intervene in the widespread practice of abortion, pointing out that around 1,000 abortions are being carried out daily.
``Korea is a nation with a high pregnancy rate but, at the same time, the lowest birthrate among OECD nations. About 30 out of 1,000 women here aged between 15 and 44 underwent abortion procedures in 2005,'' she said.
Choi made the remarks during a seminar to discuss ways of controlling abortion, held at the National Assembly.
In Western society, pro-choice activists hold the view that women should have control of their pregnancies and the choice to continue or terminate them.
In Korea, experts say the country's pro-choice tendency has largely been driven by policy.
They pointed out that the nation's highest abortion rate among OECD nations was the consequence of the government's birth control policy in the 1960s and 1970s, when it was striving to achieve high economic growth.
Chang Seok-il, vice chairman of the Korean Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, concurred with them, saying abortion was widely accepted by society because of birth control policy.
``About 10 years ago or so, families were not entitled to get medical insurance benefits when they had a third child. This shows that the society implicitly motivated women to opt for abortions during third pregnancies,'' he said.
The vast majority of abortions (88 percent) were among women in their 20s and 30s, with teenage abortion accounting for 3 percent.
Earlier, lawmakers including Park Sun-young of the Liberty Forward Party, called on the health ministry to consider linking pro-life measures to those to increase the country's birthrate.
Experts, however, warned of the danger of such measures, saying banning abortion in order to boost the birthrate would invite a variety of negative social results.
Kim Tae-woo, a prosecutor, said linking abortion to the birthrate may help fight the falling birthrate but would result in the government facing growing social problems such as poverty.
In response to calls to ban abortion, Kim said policymakers' hands are tied as individuals are making the choice on their own.