Seoul, South Korea, Aug 30, 2018 / 15:47 pm
The South Korean government included abortion in a list of "immoral medical actions" earlier this month as the country's abortion law was revised to enable authorities to suspend medical professionals for performing abortions illegally.
Abortion is reported to be very common in South Korea, although abortion is technically illegal, except in the cases of rape, incest, or to save the mother's life.
About 340,000 abortions are performed annually in South Korea, while 440,000 child births are reported, according to a 2012 study published in the International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family.
"In high-income South Korea … safe but clandestine procedures are widely available, despite a fairly restrictive law," the Guttmacher Institute, which provides research and analysis to "advance sexual and reproductive health and rights", said in 2018.