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When the criminal law was enacted in 1953, there was a controversy over the crime of abortion. Some members of the National Assembly presented legislation that included the removal of the abortion punishment clause contained in the “Chhosun Penal Decree” during the Japanese colonial period. One reason was that “population growth should be slowed.” However, the logic of encouraging childbirth prevailed, saying that “the population decreased due to the upheaval of June 25 and that the population must be 40 million to maintain sovereignty as an independent country.” After the controversy, the abortion provision remained.
▷ When the Maternal and Child Health Act was enacted in 1973, limiting abortions, the movement to have two children and raise them well was in full swing. The content was to maintain the crimes of abortion, but allow abortions up to 24 weeks of pregnancy in case of pregnancy due to sexual crimes, pregnancy between blood relatives or genetic diseases. It was interpreted as “ birth control ” and there were few cases of punishment for illegal abortion. This law has been passed down to this day.
▷ It is ironic that the crime of abortion has been abolished amid the low birth rate. In April last year, the Constitutional Court ruled against the criminal law’s punishment of abortion, saying it was a violation of a woman’s right to self-determination. It is a lawsuit filed by a gynecologist accused of abortion, but it would have been difficult to abolish the abortion crime that lasted 66 years without the feminist movement of ‘my belly is mine’. According to the government’s legislative notice, there is no punishment for abortion for any reason until the 14th week of pregnancy. Up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, an abortion is possible even when there are socioeconomic circumstances in addition to the currently permitted reasons. ▷ Europe has allowed abortion in principle since the 1960s under the influence of the French Revolution of ’68, and the United States in principle allowed abortion after the 1973 Supreme Court ruling. It also means respecting the right of women to self-determination, but it is because it can reduce the number of deaths due to illegal procedures. The Gutmacher Institute in the United States analyzed abortion data from 92 countries between 1990 and 2014 and found that abortion rates in countries that allow abortion decreased, but there was no change in abortion rates in developing countries. Without these realistic results, as the religious world points out, ‘actions that violate the right to life of the fetus’ would not have enjoyed legal status. ▷ In Korea, 50,000 abortions are performed each year, and the medical community estimates that it is actually 10 to 20 times more than this. Last year, the rate of sexual experience among adolescents increased to 5.9%, and the number of teenage births exceeded 1,000 each year. The experience of countries that have allowed abortion in advance is that stronger sex education reduces abortion rather than its punishment. You need to be sensible enough to avoid unwanted pregnancy and an environment where you can give birth and parent without worry, even if you are pregnant. It should not end with the abolition of abortion.
Editorial writer Lee Jin-young [email protected]
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