The child burst into tears... Abortion surgeon sentenced to 3 years and 6 months in prison (Comprehensive Report 2)

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] A court has sentenced an obstetrician and gynecologist to prison for causing the death of a newborn baby born during an illegal abortion procedure.

Last year, the Constitutional Court ruled that the abortion law was unconstitutional, but the court judged that this case did not fall under that ruling.

The Criminal Division 25-1 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Sunhee Kim) sentenced obstetrician and gynecologist Dr. A, who was charged with murder and other offenses, to 3 years and 6 months in prison and 3 years of license suspension.

The court also rejected Dr. A's bail request and ordered detention in court.

The court stated, "The defendant knew through pre-surgery diagnosis that the fetus was healthy, yet performed the abortion surgery," and "It is recognized that the defendant killed the baby who was born alive."

It added, "Due to the defendant's actions, a baby born healthy lost its dignified and precious life," and "During the investigation, the defendant coerced nursing assistants and hospital staff to falsely testify that the baby's health condition was poor at birth or to create false medical records, which shows the very bad nature of the crime."

However, the court also considered that "the mother was a minor and her mother claimed that the pregnancy was due to rape, which led to the request for abortion."

Dr. A, the director of an obstetrics and gynecology clinic in Seoul, was arrested and indicted last March on charges of attempting to abort a 34-week fetus by cesarean section, but intentionally caused the baby to die after it was born alive.

Dr. A's side admitted to performing an illegal abortion procedure and mutilating the baby's body in court but denied the prosecution's claim that the fetus was healthy or had a high chance of survival at the time of the procedure, arguing that it was not intentional murder.

The court rejected Dr. A's claims, stating, "The testimonies of nursing assistants who participated in the abortion procedure consistently said they heard the baby's cries, and the defendant has performed abortions on fetuses over 22 weeks of pregnancy multiple times besides this case."

Dr. A's side also argued that criminal punishment was not possible based on last year's Constitutional Court decision declaring the abortion penalty clause unconstitutional.

However, the court said, "Since the legislative deadline set by the Constitutional Court has not yet passed, criminal punishment for abortion is possible," and "According to the intent of the Constitutional Court's unconstitutionality ruling, abortion for mothers over 22 weeks of pregnancy can be punished."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.