In South Korea, abortion is widespread despite the ban, which allows exceptions such as in cases of rape or when a woman’s health is at risk. But the ban on abortion has rarely been enforced. In 2017 alone, 49,700 abortions took place, nearly 94 percent of them illegally, according to estimates released in February by the government-run Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs. Until recently, abortion carried little of the emotional or religious significance in South Korea that it does in many Western countries. The government’s attitude toward abortion has also shifted, with officials often calling it unpatriotic and threatening to crack down on the procedure.

Source: New York Times April 11, 2019 06:15 UTC