정부 낙태죄 개정안 발표... 양측 시민단체에서 반대의견
The Constitutional Court of South Korea in April last year said that the nation's current abortion laws are "unconstitutional"... and gave the National Assembly until the end of this year to make revisions.
However, while the related government agencies have released their revision plans, neither those who are pro-choice or pro-life are particular content with what is being proposed.
Our Kim Do-yeon has more.
The subject of abortion has, again, become a hot topic in South Korea.
In response to the Constitutional Court's ruling last year, the relevant government agencies last week released their joint revisions to the country's abortion laws.
The Courts ruled that....banning abortions was unconstitutional and gave the National Assembly until the end of this year to make revisions.
The new proposal, however, has left neither side satisfied.
Divided into three stages, the proposed law allows abortions on request until week 14.
After that, and up to week 24, certain conditions have to be met for the procedure to be legal.
From week 25 onward abortions would be punishable by law.
But according to global statistics, most abortions are carried out earlier than 12 weeks into the pregnancy.
"Social and economic circumstances themselves are unclear. It's hard to determine who can decide what a serious case from those circumstances is."
Meanwhile, those who are pro-choice say that socioeconomic factors can result in abortions being carried out later into the pregnancy.
But timeline is not the sole issue at hand.
"Currently, the problem with getting rid of abortion restrictions is not about at what week it will be allowed. Rather, is it right to punish women? Our main stance is that we're against women being punished depending on how late into the pregnancy the procedure is carried out."
The rest of the world also has contrasting approaches to the issue.
For example, in Italy, despite being a predominantly Catholic country, abortion is legal up until 90 days into the pregnancy.
The U.S. had its landmark case, Roe versus Wade in 1973, which led to legalized abortion nationally. But each state approaches the issue differently.
The South Korean government said it has tried its best to protect the rights of the fetus and those of women...by being able to have a say in what revisions are made.
"On the medical side, the planned law will allow more options for abortion procedures while giving doctors the right to conscientiously object.
Kim Do-yeon, Arirang News"
