Abortion in Korea

[Legal-ease]Is abortion illegal here?

This article, describing Korea's illegal but ubiquitous abortions (more per capita than in the US, where abortion is legal), is so chilling in its matter-of-factness, I'll post it in its entirity. For those who don't have time to read the whole article, it can be summarized as follows:

Is abortion illegal in Korea? Yes, but the law isn't enforced, so go ahead and kill your baby.

Here's the article:

Dear Sean, I am a Canadian teacher working in Seoul. My Korean girlfriend is pregnant. What are our options in Korea? Is it true that abortion in Korea is illegal? If we choose to abort the child is it still possible in Korea or a nearby country. Full of Anxiety, in Gangnam.

Dear Anxiety, Chapter XVII of the Criminal Code punishes those that procure an abortion and those that administer an abortion. A woman who procures an abortion may be punished with up to a 2 million won fine and one year in jail.

A doctor or the like who performs an abortion may be punished with up to two years in jail if no injury occurs to the mother, up to three years in jail if an injury occurs to the mother, and up to five years in jail if the mother dies. Additionally, a doctor may loose the qualification to practice medicine for up to seven years.

In 1973, however, the Maternal and Child Health and the Mother and Fatherless Child Health Acts established exemptions from this prohibition.

According to the laws, a physician may perform an abortion if the pregnant woman or her spouse suffers from an eugenic or hereditary mental or physical disease specified by Presidential Decree, if the woman or her spouse suffers from a communicable disease specified by Presidential Decree, if the pregnancy results from rape or incest or if continuation of the pregnancy is likely to jeopardize the mothers health.

Even though the Korean legal system may punish those that procure an abortion and those that perform an abortion - prosecutors rarely prosecute those that perform or procure abortions because of the exceptions, the fact that doctors can fit their case into the exemptions, and the fact that the attitude of Koreans towards abortion has drastically changed, since the imposition of the law.

Today, a women that is pregnant in Korea that wishes to abort the fetus usually visits her local OB/GYN and the doctor usually performs the abortion or the doctor refers the patient to a clinic that will perform the abortion.

In Korea, an abortion can usually be performed up to 28 weeks from conception, but at the 28-week mark, the abortion may be detrimental to the health of the mother.

Statistics reported by the United Nations states that in 1996, 20 abortions per 1000 births occurred in Korea. However, the United Nations contends that the statistics on the actual number of abortions performed may be underestimated, since reporting is not mandatory, and most abortions are performed in private clinics.

The United States abortion rate is the identical rate of 20 abortions per 1000 births, but most abortions in the United States are reported. So it is likely that the abortion rate in Korea is somewhat higher than the abortion rate in the United States.

Accordingly, in Korea a pregnant woman has a viable option of choosing to abort the fetus. A pregnant woman should not forget, however, that other options are available including adoption, raising the child as a single-mother or getting married and raising the child as a family.

All too often many young couples choose an abortion without considering other available options.

A plethora of online information is available to assist you and your girlfriend in making this important decision in your girlfriend, the fetus, and your life.