한국사회의 낙태에 대한 인식변화

Abstract

This research focused on the ideals and the reality, specifically the changes in attitudes concerning abortion in Korea. Nowadays, the Korean government struggles against the problems of low fertility and population aging. Until a few years ago, they had tried to reduce fertility and very generous in abortion even though it has been illegal since 1953. Attitudes toward abortion have continuously changed depending on the needs of society. In the Choseon dynasty, there was no abortion penalty for women and we can see that abortions were carried out from the many remedies for abortion in the Donguibogam(東醫寶鑑), medical books of this dynasty. In the colonial period (1910-1945), Japanese Imperialism criminalized abortion and this continued after liberation in 1953. Although abortion is officially a crime in Korea , there have hardly been any accusations since then. However, the government is trying to control abortion and this is presenting obstetricians with a difficult situation. According to interviews with retired obstetricians, abortion was the one of the main causes of the growth of gynecology in 1960's and 70's Korea, and it was quite popular. After contraceptive devices became common, the rate of abortion decreased. However, attitudes about abortion did no change much. According to a Gallup survey in 2001, Koreans did not want to be restricted regarding abortion, though most of them considered it as killing a life. It reveals that it hardly changed for Korean attitude towards the abortion between 1994 and 2001. Only the attitude of government has changed depending its needs.