South Korea Court Overturns Ban That Prevented Doctors From Revealing Sex Of Infants Before Birth

Main Category: Pregnancy / Obstetrics
Also Included In: Primary Care / General Practice;  Litigation / Medical Malpractice
Article Date: 04 Aug 2008 - 9:00 PDT

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South Korea's Constitutional Court on Thursday overturned a 1987 ban that prohibited physicians from revealing the sex of infants to parents before birth, the AP/Google.com reports (Chang, AP/Google.com, 7/31). The court ruled that parents have the right to know the sex of their infants before birth. The court also said that the ban was "out of step with social changes" and that it violated the rights of medical workers (AFP/Google.com, 7/31).

The ban originally was implemented to prevent sex-selective abortions in the country and to reverse the gender imbalance that favored boys. Although abortion is illegal in the country, it has been widely practiced, the AP/Google.com reports. The case that led the court to overturn the ban was filed in 2004 by a lawyer after doctors refused to tell him the sex of his partner's fetus. The next year, a doctor filed a similar suit after he was suspended for six months for informing parents of the sex of their fetus. "The legislation's purpose is recognized in that it helps resolve the sex-ratio imbalance and protects the fetuses' right to life," the court said in its ruling. However, the court added that the ban "overly limits the basic rights of parents and physicians to put a blanket ban through the latter half of pregnancy." The court added that the preference for sons has lessened in the country to a point where the ratio has decreased to 106 boys born for every 100 girls. "Considering this, we cannot but question whether the sex-ratio imbalance is a serious social problem and whether the fetus gender notification is serving as a cause for abortion," the court said. The court ordered that the law be revised to reflect the ruling by the end of next year, the AP/Google.com reports (AP/Google.com 7/31).

Koo Young-Moo, professor of medical ethics at the University of Ulsan, said he is "concerned that the court's decision could bring sex-select[ive] abortions back into fashion." He added that the country has reduced the trend of aborting female fetuses, in part through an awareness campaign called "Love Your Daughter." However, he said that the reduction also is partly because of other wider social changes. "Many married couples choose to have only one baby, regardless of the baby's sex, or none at all," he said (AFP/Google.com, 7/31).

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