‘Constitutional inconsistency’ abortion offenses, losing effect due to not meeting the deadline for alternative legislation

The ruling and the opposition parties haven’t been able to coordinate opinions for 20 months
Grounds for abortion punishment disappear
Medical field “rejected treatment after 22 weeks of pregnancy”
The abortion crime, which the National Assembly had delayed revising the law, lost its effect on the 1st. This is because the alternative legislation for the abortion provision, which the Constitutional Court decided against constitution inconsistency in April 2019, was not implemented until December 31 of last year.

The Ministry of Justice submitted an amendment in October last year that entrusts abortions to the decision of pregnant women until the 14th week of pregnancy and conditionally permits them until 24 weeks of pregnancy when there are diseases, sexual crimes, and social and economic reasons. However, in the course of discussions at the National Assembly, the national assembly has delayed drawing up a single proposal, as women’s alleged abolition of abortion crimes continued.

Even the public hearing on the abortion bill, which was held on December 8 last year by the National Assembly Legislative Judicial Committee, was held as a “half-piece” due to the parliamentary criticism over the amendment to the High-ranking Officials Criminal Investigation Office (Airlift) Act, and it was not possible to draw any other conclusions. As a result, from the 1st, the grounds for punishment for abortion regardless of the length of pregnancy have disappeared. An official from the Democratic Party said, “It is true that the discussion on the abortion amendment bill has been pushed to the lower ranks as the opposition parties continue to confront over other issues.” The Korean Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology has a policy of not responding to the request for an abortion procedure once it has passed 22 weeks of pregnancy as recommended by the Constitution as the abortion limit line. However, there is great concern in the medical field. Kim Dong-seok, chairman of the Korean Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said on the day, “We need to prepare a law as soon as possible by specifying the doctor’s right to veto abortion.” In order to minimize the confusion that will occur in the field, the government has prepared countermeasures, such as distributing a pregnancy and childbirth counseling manual to health centers nationwide for crisis situations.Go to reporter page>·Eunji Wi·Woon Lee Reporter