In a victory for women’s rights in South Korea, the country’s top court ordered the government to decriminalize abortion Thursday, reforming a 66-year-long widespread ban on the procedure.
South Korea’s current laws governing abortion are some of the strictest in the developed world, criminalizing the practice in most cases, and only allowing for exceptions in cases of rape, incest or if a woman’s or girl’s health is endangered by the pregnancy. In these instances, abortions must be performed within the 24 hours and are subject to spousal consent. Women who terminate pregnancies can face fines of up to KRW 2 million ($1,850) or one year in jail, and medical professionals assisting with abortions can face prison terms of up to two years if convicted.
Thursday’s ruling by South Korea’s Constitutional Court was related to an appeal by a doctor who was prosecuted for carrying out 70 abortions between 2013 and 2017, the Associated Press reports. The court ruling ordered South Korea’s Nati..