| Controversies are rising over whether to fully legalize abortion after a government survey showed that many women supported the plan. Yonhap |
Controversy was ignited Friday over whether to fully legalize abortion after a government survey showed that many women had opted to end their pregnancies due to socio-economic reasons.
On Thursday, the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs released a survey on 10,000 women aged between 15 and 44, the first nationwide fact-finding survey on abortion in eight years.
Under South Korean law, abortions are illegal unless there are extenuating circumstances such as the unborn baby posing a serious health risk to the mother, or the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest.
The survey showed that the abortion rate reached 4.8 abortions per every 1,000 women in 2017, compared with 29.3 in 2005 and 15.8 in 2010.
It said 46.9 percent of women who opted to end their pregnancies were unmarried, followed by 37.9 percent for married women and 13 percent of women in cohabitation relationships.
The survey also showed that 33.4 percent of the respondents said they opted to terminate their pregnancies as it would interfere with their work or education, followed by 32.8 percent citing economic reasons.
It concluded that the most frequently cited reasons for having an abortion were socio-economic concerns and economic limitations.
Controversies over the balance between the right to life and women's self-determination have long been a social issue in the country.
In 2010, the government attempted to revise a law to allow more abortions but this was strongly opposed by religious circles, who cited that human life should be categorically respected from the moment of conception.
In 2012, the Constitutional Court ruled that the current law stipulating punishment for doctors administering an abortion was constitutional.
More than 75 percent of the surveyed women said the law on abortion should be amended. The current law stipulates a prison term of one year and a fine of up to 2 million won (US$1,780) for a woman undergoing an abortion.
Women's civic groups and some doctors argue that the law should be revised to allow abortions under more diverse circumstances.
Currently, women must submit proof that they were raped or that their health is at risk. The procedure must be carried out within the first six months of pregnancy. (Yonhap)