Ruth Institute Blog

Low birth rate a problem? Making abortion illegal seems like a good idea to me. I’m skeptical that Korea (or any abortion nation) would actually pull it off, though.

Anna Choi

Unless Koreans have more kids, their nation could disappear. A dynamic gynaecologist has a plan to reverse the trend by applying the existing laws on abortion.

Korea has the second-lowest birth rate in the world – so low that the government has reversed years of pressure on couples to have just one or two children. It now desperately wants to raise the birth rate. But why not reduce the abortion rate, asks obstetrician and gynaecologist Anna Choi. Her lobby group, Gynob, has created quite a stir with its demand that abortion be criminalised and abortion doctors prosecuted. We interviewed Dr Choi via email.

MercatorNet : The Korean government is very worried about the fact that the national birth rate is almost the lowest in the world. What is it doing to reverse this trend?

Anna Choi : The Korean government drove a population control policy from 1973 to recent years . Therefore, the present fertile generation grew up in social circumstances where family planning was encouraged. The problem of the low birth rate attracted serious attention in recent years and so the government has changed its policy and is encouraging a higher birth rate. However, a mere change in government policy cannot affect Koreans’ negative views on child-bearing within a short span of time. In other words, many people here still consider that raising many children can only increase their financial costs and requires too much sacrifice on the part of parents.

MercatorNet : How successful has your own group been in lobbying the government and changing public opinion?

Anna Choi: Having been accustomed to family planning policies for so long, the Korean government does not seem to appreciate the logic and implications of our movement. The government says it will take a long time to build up a social consensus for a new policy change. Such an easygoing attitude will not decrease abortion and is irresponsible in view of the status of abortion in Korea.

The government should adopt a new policy to control abortion on a large scale and to provide government assistance toward changing people’s awareness about a birth-friendly environment. We are determined to push forward toward establishing new population policies.

MercatorNet : How long did you do abortions? Why did you stop? How do you feel about the time you did abortions?

Keep reading.