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Korea's abortion crackdown
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On the other hand

Joined: 19 Apr 2003
Location: I walk along the avenue

Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 10:01 am Post subject: Korea's abortion crackdown

Quote:

As the nation�s enforcement of abortion laws has tightened due to the recent reporting of illegal cases by an anti-abortion doctors� group, many hospitals are stopping abortions, finding ways to skirt the laws or charging large sums for the procedure.

It has been one month since Pro-Life Doctors, a group of obstetricians, reported three obstetrics hospitals to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors� Office for conducting illegal abortions.

Since then, 80 to 90 percent of local obstetricians have since stopped performing illegal abortions, the group says.

When I first heard about this crackdown, I figured it would go the way of similar crackdowns on protitution and illegal tutoring ie. a few high-profile arrests for show, followed by a quick resumption to business as usual.

It would seem that some share my view...

Quote:

Although illegal abortion cases have dropped, some say that they are likely to pick up again after media heat dies down because the number of women who want abortions has not decreased.

�Although most hospitals have stopped illegal abortions altogether, we believe half of them are considering performing abortions again,� said Shim Sang-duk, ethics division head at Pro-Life Doctors.

Nevertheless, it does seem to be having an impact, at least in the short-term. Which I suppose is all that really matters to the women who need abortions at the current time.

link

pkang0202

Joined: 09 Mar 2007

Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 11:48 am Post subject:

I can't help but shake my head. All this does is make the women who want abortions WAIT LONGER to get it. Can you say abortions in the 2nd and 3rd trimester?

On the other hand

Joined: 19 Apr 2003
Location: I walk along the avenue

Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 12:00 pm Post subject:

pkang0202 wrote:

I can't help but shake my head. All this does is make the women who want abortions WAIT LONGER to get it.

Can you say abortions in the 2nd and 3rd trimester?

I'm guessing that you're referring to the fees that some doctors are now apparently charging...

Quote:

Some obstetricians are asking for up to 6 million won ($5,203) per procedure, saying that they need extra �precautionary fees� in case they get caught. Prior to recent months, an early-stage abortion averaged to around 300,000 won to 400,000 won.

So a woman, who may very well be in dire financial straits to begin with, now has to round up six million won to pay for the procedure? That could indeed take months.

Fox

Joined: 04 Mar 2009

Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 6:09 pm Post subject:

I wonder how much of this crack down is instigated by the population growth problems Korea has been evidently having.

djsmnc

Joined: 20 Jan 2003
Location: Dave's ESL Cafe

Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 7:13 pm Post subject:

Fox wrote:

I wonder how much of this crack down is instigated by the population growth problems Korea has been evidently having.

And in light of that, it makes one wonder how many of the unplanned infants are going to be sent abroad for adoption anyway

nautilus

Joined: 26 Nov 2005
Location: Je jump, Tu jump, oui jump!

Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 7:15 pm Post subject:

Fox wrote:

I wonder how much of this crack down is instigated by the population growth problems Korea has been evidently having.

That was my first thought exactly.
They're instituting Plan B to "encourage people to have more children".

Senior

Joined: 31 Jan 2010

Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 8:43 pm Post subject:

AAakkkk. Why can't Korean women just take the pill? It's not that damn hard. I've had two Korean girlfriends who both believed taking the pill would make them infertile or give them cancer. Unwanted pregnancies are pretty damn dangerous too. Both intelligent, wordly women with assbackwards ideas about reproduction.

nautilus

Joined: 26 Nov 2005
Location: Je jump, Tu jump, oui jump!

Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 8:55 pm Post subject:

Senior wrote:

AAakkkk. Why can't Korean women just take the pill? It's not that damn hard. I've had two Korean girlfriends who both believed taking the pill would make them infertile or give them cancer. Unwanted pregnancies are pretty damn dangerous too. Both intelligent, wordly women with assbackwards ideas about reproduction. Mad

I know, its insane. If you're going to have a g/f here better get used to strapping on indefinitely. It takes half the pleasure out of it but none of them will budge on the matter.

And you'll never get through to them because the govt. here conducted a campaign against the pill a decade ago I believe, spreading the message that it causes infertility. Based on research from the west that showed something like 1 woman per million suffered this result.

Street Magic

Joined: 23 Sep 2009

Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 9:03 pm Post subject:

Senior wrote:

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/oral-contraceptives

That aside, I imagine I wouldn't want to tamper with my hormones on a regular basis either, so I can't blame women for not wanting to take the pill (although the infertility reason seems pretty baseless). I personally hate the idea of having to take anything in the long term. I think the most dangerous trend in medicine nowadays is the indefinite prescription of pharmaceuticals as "maintenance" treatment (and I'm not talking about insulin for type 1 diabetics or thyroid hormone replacement post-thyroidectomy).

nautilus wrote:

If you're going to have a g/f here better get used to strapping on indefinitely.

Does that not mean in Canada what it means in America?

Fox

Joined: 04 Mar 2009

Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 9:17 pm Post subject:

Street Magic wrote:

Senior wrote:

I feel the same way; I wouldn't want to do it. I know that a male birth control shot is being experimented with, and I certainly wouldn't take it.

geldedgoat

Joined: 05 Mar 2009

Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 9:23 pm Post subject: Re: Korea's abortion crackdown

On the other hand wrote:

Nevertheless, it does seem to be having an impact, at least in the short-term. Which I suppose is all that really matters to the women who need abortions at the current time.

According to the article, rape victims (apparently except those who have been "semi-raped") and women with medical complications can still undergo abortion surgery, so I fail to see how that has any impact on women who actually need an abortion.

Fox wrote:

I wonder how much of this crack down is instigated by the population growth problems Korea has been evidently having.

I'd really like to see Korea do something that makes sense for the right reasons, but unfortunately you've probably hit the nail on the head here.

Senior

Joined: 31 Jan 2010

Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 9:29 pm Post subject:

Fox wrote:

Street Magic wrote:

Senior wrote:

I feel the same way; I wouldn't want to do it. I know that a male birth control shot is being experimented with, and I certainly wouldn't take it.

There definitely are possible side effects from taking the pill. But millions of women have been freed by this medical innovation. In general the side effects of unwanted pregnancy are much worse and more irreversible, on average, than those associated with birth control. If there were a male equivalent with the same efficacy and track record as the pill, I would take it in a heart beat. Unfortunately, that will take at least twenty years.

On the other hand

Joined: 19 Apr 2003
Location: I walk along the avenue

Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 12:25 am Post subject:

Quote:

On the other hand wrote:
Nevertheless, it does seem to be having an impact, at least in the short-term. Which I suppose is all that really matters to the women who need abortions at the current time.

According to the article, rape victims (apparently except those who have been "semi-raped") and women with medical complications can still undergo abortion surgery, so I fail to see how that has any impact on women who actually need an abortion.

Well, I guess it depends on what your definition of "need" is. It could be argued, and I would, that if a woman is pregnant, and does not want to carry the pregnancy to term, then she needs an abortion. Just as we could say, for example, that a man who is in a sexual relationship with a woman, and does not want to be a father, needs a condom.

geldedgoat

Joined: 05 Mar 2009

Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 1:27 am Post subject:

On the other hand wrote:

That would be an example of "want." There exists a difference between those two words for a reason, and to unnecessarily blur the distinction between the two erodes our language even further.

bacasper

Joined: 26 Mar 2007

Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 1:43 am Post subject:

Many or most words in English have many or more than one definition. Dictionary.com's definition's 2& 3 support OTOH's position: 2. a lack of something wanted or deemed necessary: to fulfill the needs of the assignment. 3. urgent want, as of something requisite: He has no need of your charity.

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