Human Rights Commission Standing Committee Shows 'Differences in Position' on Maintaining Abortion Crime... Referred to Full Committee

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) was unable to adopt an opinion on the government's proposed amendments to the Criminal Act and the Maternal and Child Health Act, which maintain the punishment provisions for abortion but allow pregnancy termination up to 14 weeks of gestation.

On the 6th, at the 37th Standing Committee meeting, the NHRCK put forward the agenda to express opinions on the proposed amendments to the Criminal Act and the Maternal and Child Health Act to be sent to the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, but did not pass a resolution and decided to submit the matter to the plenary committee, attended by all 11 commissioners.

It was reported that there were significant differences in positions among the standing committee members and calls for caution were raised. In a report submitted to the standing committee, the NHRCK Secretariat stated, "The government's amendment retains provisions that punish women who have abortions, thus failing to resolve fundamental rights issues such as women's right to self-determination and reproductive rights, and does not align with the Constitutional Court's decision declaring unconstitutionality," urging a full reconsideration of the government proposal.

Commissioner Jung Moon-ja said, "The amendment to the Criminal Act keeps the abortion crime intact and adds exception clauses, which violates the Constitutional Court's ruling," and added, "The punishment provisions for abortion should be deleted, and issues related to fetal life should be addressed in the Maternal and Child Health Act."

On the other hand, Commissioner Lee Sang-chul said, "The proposal to allow artificial pregnancy termination without any restrictions is premature."

Commissioner Park Chan-woon opposed the Secretariat's report but did not express a specific stance. He said, "The NHRCK should provide legislative direction, including expressing opinions on the government's legislative notice, after careful and in-depth discussions." However, he added, "In many countries, when abortion is decriminalized, strengthening procedural requirements as supplementary measures is a common phenomenon."

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