SPOTLIGHT 26/07/15 Korean Church, pro-lifers slam move to legalize abortion pills

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Constitutional Court ruled in April 2019 that the country's decades-old criminal ban on abortion was unconstitutional

Father Park Eun-ho, director of the Catholic Institute of Bioethics, speaks during a press conference in the South Korean capital Seoul on July 15. (Photo: Catholic Times of Korea)

By UCA News reporter

Published: July 16, 2026 12:45 PM GMT

Updated: July 16, 2026 12:47 PM GMT

A Catholic leader joined medical professionals and pro-life advocates to slam the South Korean government’s move to review the possible legalization of abortion pills, emphasizing protection of pregnant women and children.

The remarks were made during a press conference in the national capital Seoul on July 15. Speakers criticized the move and insisted on policies to ensure protection of both pregnant women and unborn life.

“The fierce debate about how many weeks abortion should be permitted is not merely unproductive theory,” said Father Park Eun-ho, director of the Catholic Institute of Bioethics.

“This is an important issue that determines whether our society becomes an inhumane society that excludes helpless, weak, and unproductive lives, or a livable society that respects the unshakeable value of all human lives,” the priest said.

The conference, organized by lawmaker Yoon Yong-geun and the National Alliance for Fetal and Women's Protection, condemned President Lee Jae-myung's July 14 directive ordering a review of legalizing abortion pills.

Lee had called this a “realistic and pragmatic approach,” saying women were already buying unauthorized drugs directly.

Father Park rejected this framing, saying abortion touches on fundamental values, not mere procedure, and criticized Lee for dismissing the debate as unproductive formal logic.

“I would like to ask whether the voice of people calling for respect for fetal life, which has no ability to defend itself, is worthless,” he said.

The priest said the Constitutional Court's 2019 ruling that the abortion law was unconstitutional was separate from the question of legalizing pills, since the ruling did not address pill authorization, and voiced astonishment at the lack of concern for fetal life in Lee's statement.

Park said government should crack down on illegal distribution instead of legalizing abortion pills.

“If illegal distribution of abortion pills endangers women, then the government is responsible for more thoroughly addressing that illegal distribution,” he said.

Han Ah-reum, eight weeks pregnant, said pregnant women need social support, not abortion pills.

“A mother and fetus are not enemies to each other,” she said.

“The state should not force one or the other to be abandoned, but should protect both lives together through counseling, medical care, safe housing, and financial support,” Han said.

Professor Jang Ji-young of Ewha Women’s University Seoul Hospital warned that rushing to introduce the pills without clear legal and safety standards could shift state responsibility onto doctors.

“A doctor's expertise is exercised within a legal framework, licensing requirements, and medical treatment guidelines,” he said.

“Leaving it to doctors' discretion without legal standards and guidelines is not honoring expertise, but shifting the policy and legal responsibility that should be borne by the state to medical professionals,” he added.

Lawmaker Yoon condemned what he called hasty efforts to legalize abortion medication.

“The government must stop efforts to permit dangerous medications and take practical and fundamental steps to protect the right to life of the fetus and the health rights of pregnant women,” he said.

South Korea's Constitutional Court ruled in April 2019 that the country's decades-old criminal ban on abortion was unconstitutional, giving the National Assembly until the end of 2020 to pass a replacement law.

Lawmakers failed to do so, and the criminal provisions lapsed on Jan. 1, 2021, leaving abortion decriminalized but without any regulatory framework, according to Amnesty International.

According to the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, the country’s annual number of abortions fell sharply from about 241,000 in 2008 to roughly 23,000 in 2018, before edging up to about 27,000 in 2019 and 32,000 in 2020.

Surgical abortion remains available, mainly through private clinics, but abortion pills such as Mifegyne remain formally illegal, pushing many women toward unregulated online sellers, the Korea Herald reported on Sept. 5, 2025.

* This report is a translated and edited version of an article first published by Catholic Times of Korea on July 15, 2026.