1 in 5 pregnant women had abortions due to concerns about economy, personal development
- 5 years ago
임신경험자 5명 중 1명 낙태 경험 있음, 전국 여성 1만명대상 보건사회硏 조사
The government released data on the number of abortions taking place in the country,... where cases of termination, while illegal, are rarely prosecuted.
The issue is still controversial,... as it remains to be seen as a zero-sum game between pro-life and pro-choice values.
Oh Soo-young provides a closer look.
One in five pregnant women in Korea were found to have had an abortion,... mostly due to concerns about their livelihoods and long-term social prospects.
On Thursday, the state-run Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs,... released rare data on abortions conducted in the country for the first time in seven years.
Out of the nearly 38-hundred women surveyed,... who have experienced pregnancy, 756 said they have had a termination,... most of them through surgical procedures.
Ten percent of the women said they'd considered an abortion but hadn't gone through with it.
The survey was conducted in September and October on women and girls aged between 15 and 44.
Abortion is illegal in Korea, under the Criminal Act which imposes a maximum fine of 2 million won or a year in prison for intentional miscarriages.
Physicians are permitted to carry out abortions,... only in the case of rape or incest,... or if the pregnancy could jeopardise the mother or baby's health.
Still, abortions at medical clinics are considered an open secret in the country, with the law rarely enforced.
Abortion pills are becoming more attainable online and from overseas.
In recent years, there have been growing calls to change the 1953 law,... with seven in ten women against the criminalisation of abortions.
But the ethics of the issue -- over the sanctity of life and a woman's right to choose continues to be debated.
In the recent survey, the biggest reasons that pregnant women considered ending their pregnancies were concerns about economic prospects,... and fears that a child could hinder one's career or academic prospects.
However, for women who chose not to have an abortion,... the value of human life was the most compelling reason.
Meanwhile, the institute also said the number of abortions has been on a downward trend due to higher use of birth control,... hitting 50-thousand cases in 2017,... from 342-thousand cases 12 years earlier.
Oh Soo-young, Arirang News.
The government released data on the number of abortions taking place in the country,... where cases of termination, while illegal, are rarely prosecuted.
The issue is still controversial,... as it remains to be seen as a zero-sum game between pro-life and pro-choice values.
Oh Soo-young provides a closer look.
One in five pregnant women in Korea were found to have had an abortion,... mostly due to concerns about their livelihoods and long-term social prospects.
On Thursday, the state-run Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs,... released rare data on abortions conducted in the country for the first time in seven years.
Out of the nearly 38-hundred women surveyed,... who have experienced pregnancy, 756 said they have had a termination,... most of them through surgical procedures.
Ten percent of the women said they'd considered an abortion but hadn't gone through with it.
The survey was conducted in September and October on women and girls aged between 15 and 44.
Abortion is illegal in Korea, under the Criminal Act which imposes a maximum fine of 2 million won or a year in prison for intentional miscarriages.
Physicians are permitted to carry out abortions,... only in the case of rape or incest,... or if the pregnancy could jeopardise the mother or baby's health.
Still, abortions at medical clinics are considered an open secret in the country, with the law rarely enforced.
Abortion pills are becoming more attainable online and from overseas.
In recent years, there have been growing calls to change the 1953 law,... with seven in ten women against the criminalisation of abortions.
But the ethics of the issue -- over the sanctity of life and a woman's right to choose continues to be debated.
In the recent survey, the biggest reasons that pregnant women considered ending their pregnancies were concerns about economic prospects,... and fears that a child could hinder one's career or academic prospects.
However, for women who chose not to have an abortion,... the value of human life was the most compelling reason.
Meanwhile, the institute also said the number of abortions has been on a downward trend due to higher use of birth control,... hitting 50-thousand cases in 2017,... from 342-thousand cases 12 years earlier.
Oh Soo-young, Arirang News.