Catholic Leaders, Doctors Unite Against South Korea’s Abortion Pill Review

The criticism came during a July 15 press conference in Seoul, where speakers challenged a directive issued a day earlier by President Lee Jae-myung ordering officials to examine the legalization of abortion medication. Organizers described the proposal as a threat to fetal life and warned that it could create new medical and legal uncertainties.

The event was organized by lawmaker Yoon Yong-geun and the National Alliance for Fetal and Women’s Protection. Participants rejected the government’s justification that legalizing abortion pills would provide a practical response to the reality that many women already obtain unauthorized medication through unofficial channels.

President Lee had characterized the review as a “realistic and pragmatic approach,” noting that women were already purchasing abortion drugs directly despite their illegal status.

Father Park Eun-ho, director of the Catholic Institute of Bioethics, strongly disputed that assessment. He argued that abortion is fundamentally a moral and social issue rather than a procedural question of healthcare regulation.

“The fierce debate about how many weeks abortion should be permitted is not merely unproductive theory,” Park said. He described the issue as one that would ultimately shape the character of society, determining whether it protects vulnerable lives or excludes those who are weak and unable to defend themselves.

Park also criticized Lee’s suggestion that ongoing debates over abortion reflect unproductive formal logic. He questioned whether calls to respect fetal life should be dismissed simply because unborn children cannot speak for themselves.

“I would like to ask whether the voice of people calling for respect for fetal life, which has no ability to defend itself, is worthless,” he said.

Addressing the legal dimension of the issue, Park argued that South Korea’s Constitutional Court ruling on abortion did not automatically justify legalizing abortion pills. The court’s 2019 decision declared the country’s longstanding criminal abortion ban unconstitutional, but Park emphasized that it did not specifically address authorization of abortion medication.

He also expressed concern about what he viewed as insufficient consideration for fetal life in the president’s comments and argued that the government should focus on stopping illegal distribution networks rather than legalizing the drugs.

“If illegal distribution of abortion pills endangers women, then the government is responsible for more thoroughly addressing that illegal distribution,” Park said.

Speakers at the conference also emphasized the need for greater support systems for pregnant women.

Han Ah-reum, who said she is eight weeks pregnant, argued that women facing unexpected pregnancies need practical assistance rather than easier access to abortion medication.

“A mother and fetus are not enemies to each other,” Han said.

She called for policies that protect both lives through counseling services, medical care, safe housing and financial assistance, rather than forcing women to choose between their own welfare and that of their unborn children.

Medical concerns were raised by Professor Jang Ji-young of Ewha Women’s University Seoul Hospital. Jang warned that introducing abortion pills without a clear legal and regulatory framework could place excessive responsibility on individual physicians.

According to Jang, medical expertise operates within laws, licensing requirements and established treatment guidelines. Without such standards, doctors could be left carrying responsibilities that should belong to policymakers and government regulators.

“Leaving it to doctors’ discretion without legal standards and guidelines is not honoring expertise, but shifting the policy and legal responsibility that should be borne by the state to medical professionals,” he said.

Lawmaker Yoon also criticized what he described as a rushed effort to authorize abortion medication. He urged the government to abandon plans to permit what he called dangerous drugs and instead pursue measures designed to protect fetal life and safeguard the health of pregnant women.

“The government must stop efforts to permit dangerous medications and take practical and fundamental steps to protect the right to life of the fetus and the health rights of pregnant women,” Yoon said.

The debate unfolds against a complex legal backdrop in South Korea. In April 2019, the Constitutional Court ruled that the country’s decades-old criminal ban on abortion was unconstitutional and instructed the National Assembly to enact replacement legislation by the end of 2020.

Lawmakers failed to pass new legislation before the deadline. As a result, the criminal provisions expired on Jan. 1, 2021, effectively decriminalizing abortion while leaving the country without a comprehensive regulatory framework governing the practice.

Statistics reflect significant changes in the country’s abortion landscape over the past decade. Data from the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs show the estimated annual number of abortions declining from approximately 241,000 in 2008 to around 23,000 in 2018. The figure later increased to about 27,000 in 2019 and 32,000 in 2020.

While surgical abortions remain available, primarily through private clinics, abortion medications such as Mifegyne remain formally illegal. Their continued prohibition has led many women to seek pills through unregulated online sellers, creating a tension between enforcement, access and safety that continues to fuel debate.

The government’s review of abortion pill legalization is likely to intensify discussion over how South Korea should balance maternal health, medical oversight and the protection of unborn life in a legal environment that remains largely unresolved more than five years after the Constitutional Court’s landmark ruling.

• Raju Hasmukh with files from UCA News