By Lee Kyung-min
A woman in her 20s, surnamed Kim, had an abortion last year. “I bought a pregnancy test kit and after I did the test, the stick had two lines. I rushed and called a hospital far from where I lived and made an appointment.” The doctor at an obstetricians and gynecologists (ob/gyn) office in Seoul told her she was five weeks pregnant and the procedure would cost 600,000 won ($563). “That was a lot of money as I was and still am a student, but I didn’t even for a second think about having the baby.”
Kim made the decision alone without telling her boyfriend of nine months, mindful that letting him know could have made it an issue she may not have been able to control. “I broke up with him soon after the abortion, not because I did not like him anymore, but because I didn’t want to be reminded of what I did; till this day I am not sure whether he would have suddenly changed how he thought of me. You know, you can never guarantee how a person changes after a breakup.” Kim is sure that she made the right choice, since she was well aware of many “boyfriend-turned-blackmailer” stories, of ex-boyfriends who threatened to file a criminal charge against their ex-girlfriends for undergoing an abortion.
In Korea, abortion is illegal except in cases of rape, incest, or when a severe hereditary defect is found in the fetus or when the woman’s health could be in danger. Women who have abortions are subject to a prison term of up to one year or a fine of up to 2 million won ($1,800). 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. Men who impregnated the women are not under any such criminal liability. 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 up to 800,000.
“When I decided on not telling my then-boyfriend for reasons that he might file a complaint with police against me for having abortion, of which I know I will be convicted, I got angry for a while thinking to myself, ‘Why should I be the only one that has to face the consequences and hide this for fear of a decision that I know is right for me? Why should I be worried?’”
Kim said many of her friends had similar experiences _ having an abortion and keeping it to oneself _ a sad reality women face, according to an official at the Womenlink, a women’s rights group. “What Kim went through is a perfect example of what the common-yet-illegal medical practice has forced women into,” an official from the group said. “Not only are women forced to pay the financial burden of the abortion, they cannot share the most private experience with their partners out of fear that they might use it against them, in which case women have no choice but to face legal punishment. The government should abolish the law punishing only women given doctors usually get off on suspended sentences or a fine.” The group is preparing to hold street rallies, public hearings and debates, the official added.
The largest women’s group as well as 10 others led a move late last year to sign a petition on the Cheong Wa Dae website seeking to abolish the law punishing women and doctors for having, and performing abortions. While the petition garnered over 230,000 signatures, followed by an official response from presidential secretary for civil affairs Cho Kuk, the move fizzled out after he said that “new balance” is needed concerning abortion issues, which the Catholic Church said was a distorted interpretation of Pope Francis’s words. Cho visited the ethics committee under the Catholic Church to bow deeply for “challenging” its stance that abortion is no different from killing a baby. The women’s group, in response, said the Catholic Church should preach the sanctity of life not only at birth but after birth by increasing efforts to change “dehumanizing, debilitating” social prejudice against single mothers. “Honestly, we cannot say if anyone should have a baby or not, because it’s solely their choice. But who would dare have the baby when the social stigma on single moms is that harsh and violent _ let alone the prejudice and discrimination the baby would experience,” the official said.
Such a longheld “common” view is among many contributing factors _ alongside widespread corruption in every sector of the country which regular people see no hope in _ why Korea continues to break the record on becoming an “ultra low birthrate” nation. Many young people delay or forgo getting married amid fierce competition in the job market and many women do not plan for pregnancy as childrearing is optional, an unnecessary burden in a country where such responsibility almost exclusively falls on women, not men. According to a U.S. Central Intelligence Agency report last December, Korea ranked 219th in birthrates out of 224 countries it surveyed. The birthrate has remained the lowest among 35 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member countries over the past decade.