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69 The current legislation is a combination of two laws, the first from the 1953 Korean Criminal Code prohibiting abortion entire- ly, and another from the 1973 Maternal and Child Health Act superimposing the system of exceptions on top of the ban. Since their enactment, the laws and their application have been plagued by incongruencies — the gov- ernment energetically promoted abortion from the early 1960s through the 1990s to prevent overpopulation — but there hasn’t been much movement toward changing the rules. Until now. “As of 2010, it can no longer be said that there is a lack of discussion on abortion. … It’s raging in newspapers, chat rooms and in the halls of government,” said Andrew Wol- man, assistant professor of law at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and author of “Abortion in Korea: A Human Rights Perspec- tive on the Current Debate Over Enforcement of the Laws Prohibiting Abortion.” Korea’s abortion debate differs from the West in that it doesn’t focus as much on the morality conversation; questions of religion and morality are present, but they’re simmer- ing underneath. “The debate centers on whether the govern- ment should enforce the existing law,” Wol- man said. “Those in favor of a crackdown come from two camps: government officials and obstetricians.” Doctors have been vocal opponents since the beginning, and now they are the loudest voice against the practice, citing issues of criminality and making it their business to call a penalty on what they see as a flawed system. “The income from performing illegal abortions has become a fundamental part of our prac- tice. … These days, one cannot run a clinic without performing them,” said Dr. Anna Choi, founder of the antiabortion group GYNob. The group boasts a membership of near- ly 700 doctors who all agree with Dr. Choi’s comments to the National Catholic Register back in 2010: “This is a tragic situation and a serious problem for our society. Not seeing the fetus as a living being promotes a culture of contempt for life. … We’ve become indif- ferent to these illegal procedures.” GYNob wishes to abolish abortions in Korea and has already set up a hotline to report doc- tors who perform them. The Catholic Church and other pro-life religious groups have rallied behind GYNob, though the majority of the group’s members have no religious affiliation. Politics and the birthrate debate Abortion! It’s never easy. Abortion is illegal in Korea. Those who have either had or performed an abortion can be punished. It is important to both prevent abortion and have the right perspective on life. Bye, Mom... Three hundred forty thousand abortions are performed every year, and that many lives are lost. We have to protect the lives of those trying to make their frst trip into the world. ‘as of 2010, it can no longer be said that there is a lack of discussion on abortion. … it’s raging in newspapers, chat rooms and in the halls of government.’ Andrew Wolman, assistant professor of law, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies