By Lee Kyung-min
A woman in her 20s surnamed Lee said she would get frustrated thinking about a recent visit to an obstetricians and gynecologists (ob/gyn) clinic for an emergency contraceptive pill. “I went there because I needed the pill, nothing else,” she said with her boyfriend of six months. “The doctor started asking questions including whether I used a condom and wanted other details about sexual intercourse I didn’t want to share. Isn’t it my right to take a pill if I felt uncertain whether the condom worked or not?”
Lee said she did use a condom, but her boyfriend removed it during intercourse. She thought whether it was rape for him to do so after she repeatedly told him earlier that she didn’t want sex without it. “I was and still am angry and I even thought of calling the police, but I ended up doing nothing. All I could think of was that I cannot get pregnant, otherwise I would have no choice but to have an abortion.” “I needed the pill to avoid an unwanted pregnancy. Why do I have to explain the details of my private life when I know what I need is the pill, not the patronizing look or a talking to from a doctor?”
The quiet _ oftentimes scolding _ stares from older women in the waiting room is another reason many young women feel uncomfortable going to ob/gyn clinics. “Women there are either pregnant or seeking consultation for other gynecologic issues, but not me. I don’t understand why I should go through all this unpleasant experience just to get what I need. I felt I was somehow being punished for having what an adult relationship entails.”
Women in Korea, which claims to be advanced in all other aspects otherwise, are denied easy access to emergency contraceptive pills. Data from the European Consortium for Emergency Contraception shows pills containing up to 1.5 milligrams of levonorgestrel are available without a doctor’s prescription in the U.S., the U.K., Canada, France and Germany, as well as many other advanced countries. In Korea, however, out of 14 emergency contraceptive pills currently available on the market, six have only 0.75 milligrams of levonorgestrel per pill and seven have 1.5 milligrams per pill, all of which are impossible to purchase without a doctor's prescription. Even for ellaOne 30, containing 30 milligrams of ulipristal acetate per pill, the intake of which requires more caution, a committee for medicinal products for human use under the European Medicines Agency advised that it “can be used safely and effectively without medical prescription” in 2014.
Such a lack of easy access to emergency contraceptive pills leaves women with no choice but to have an abortion, an illegal-yet-common medical practice in Korea. Women who have abortions here are subject to a prison term of up to one year or a fine of up to 2 million won ($1,900). Abortion-performing doctors in theory could face up to two years in prison, but they usually get a 1 to 2 million won fine or a suspended prison sentence. Exceptions include cases of rape, incest, or when a severe hereditary defect is found in the fetus or the woman’s health could be in danger. Ministry of Health and Welfare 2010 data estimated that about 168,000 abortions are carried out a year, but doctors say the number is at least 500,000 and possibly up to 800,000.