Can parents find out the sex of their unborn baby?
It is illegal, but parents often learn it
According to Korean law, it is illegal for doctors to identify the sex of a fetus.
Even so, many parents illegally find out their unborn baby s sex, using any means they can to get information out of thier doctors.
Three years ago, a man filed a lawsuit in which he claimed the law infringes on parents constitutional rights.
He filed the suit after a doctor denied his request to be told the sex of his unborn child.
The Constitutional Court recently had an open public hearing on the law that prohibits doctors from divulging the sex of unborn babies.
Now the court has only a few weeks to decide if the current prohibition law is unconstitutional.
Out of the court s nine judges, at least six are needed to rule an existing law is unconstitutional.
What is the prohibition law?
Under the prohibition law, doctors can not reveal an unborn baby s sex.
Medical staff who inform parents of the sex of a baby can face up to two years imprisonment or the loss of their license. In 1987, a doctor who disclosed the sex of a fetus was suspended.
The prohibition law was introduced in 1987 when South Korea was suffering from an unbalanced sex ratio favoring boys.
Sex ratio is the ratio of males to females in a population. In Korea, it is measured in the number of boys for every 100 girls born. In 1987 the total birth sex ratio was 113.7, meaning that there were 113 boys born for every 100 girls.
Based on the data, the government concluded that letting parents know the sex of their unborn child leads to more sex-selective abortions.
Despite modernity and Korea s economic development, Confucian-influenced preference for sons still persists.
As a result, the Korean government enacted the law to eliminate sex-selective abortions that favor boys.
The only exceptions from the law are when a woman gets pregnant as a result of rape or incest and when there is a health risk for the mother or the unborn child.
Why does it cause problems?
If the court decides that the current prohibition law is unconstitutional, the number of sex-selective abortions may increase. Some groups are concerned that Korea will see a trend where human life is cheapened. In addition, Korea could get an increased disproportional sex ratio.
On the other hand, some people hold opinions that identifying the sex of an unborn baby and having an abortion are complex personal issues. In other words, the government should not interfere in sensitive personal matters.
In a highly publicized 1973 case in the United States, Roe v. Wade, a U.S. woman, Norma L. McCorvey, a.k.a. Jane Roe, suffering financial difficulties, claimed abortion is a right of the individual. She eventually won the right to abort her unborn baby after the Supreme Court ruled in her favor.
Abolishing the prohibition law
Parents desire to know the sex of their baby is covered under the right to pursue their happiness, lawyer Park Sang-hoon said.
Even when parents are informed of the sex of their unborn baby, not all of them choose abortion. The Korean government should not deny a person s fundamental rights.
Supporters of the abolition of the law say that identifying the sex of the fetus will not bring about more sex-selective abortions.
They cite information released by the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs.
According to the ministry, 306,000 out of a total of 340,000 abortions in 2005 were performed because of social and economic reasons.
In addition, they claim that modern Korean society no longer harbors a preference for sons, as Korea becomes more globalized.
They point out, for example, that the birth sex ratio was 106 in 2006, meaning that there were 106 boys born for every 100 girls.
The latest national sex ratio for a firstborn child stands at roughly 105.6, a sign that supporters say is proof that it s time to throw out the outdated prohibition law.
Additionally, supporters say the law violates individual freedom.
Critics view: The law is needed
Opponents of abolition of the law say that if the law is repealed, the number of selective-sex abortions may increase.
They explain that the birth sex ratio for the third child still stands at 121.8. In 1996, it was a staggering 164. People in this camp say that even though it was introduced 20 years ago to fight old social norms, the law is still needed. In addition, critics say that sex-selective abortion is a driving factor in the abnormal sex ratios.
We guess that 2,500 out of 340,000 abortions performed in 2005 were due to preferences to have a boy, said Kwak Myeong-seop, an official of the health ministry.
If we get rid of the prohibition law, more unborn babies will die through abortion.
He also said that the government has a duty to protect the lives of unborn babies.
Others share Kwak s viewpoint.
The actual number of abortions is much higher than released statistics show, so we have to keep the current law, said Park Sang-eun, a physician.
They assert that since Korea has one of the lowest fertility rates among tmember nations of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, parents should be encouraged to have more children.
Women in South Korea are, on average, 30.6 years old when they have their first child. Ten years ago they were 28.3 years old.
Experts say the overall delay in marriage and family planning reflects South Korean women s rising social status as more women enter the workforce.
What s next?
The court is expected to conditionally allow parents to know the sex of their unborn baby.
The government currently only permits women in the eighth and ninth month of their pregnancy to find out the sex of their unborn child.
At that time in the pregnancy, it is almost impossible to get an abortion due to the health risk.
The government also has to try to secure a dependable database, which can then be used to verify the link between giving permission to know the sex of an unborn baby and the number of sex-selective abortions in Korea.
In other words, the government must clarify the main cause of abortion in Korea.
Whatever the outcome from the Constitutional Court, it will take time to change centuries-old ingrained sentiments.
By Jang Wook JoongAng Ilbo [spark@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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