(image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — Women activists calling for the repeal of current anti-abortion laws took to the streets in black yesterday, putting on a performance in which they took illegal abortion pills.
Female activist groups carried out the demonstration yesterday in front of the Bosingak Pavillion in Seoul’s Jongno district, asking that the government legalize abortions.
A total of 125 female activists carried out a performance in which they took Mifegyne, a medication typically used to induce natural abortions.
The number “125” represents the total number of women who get abortions every hour in South Korea.
Thirty other female participants took vitamin pills instead, as they are not discernible from the abortion pills, a move to protect the women who took Mifegyne during the demonstration, as such pills are currently outlawed.
Criminal laws at present prohibit all acts resulting in the facilitation of abortion.
Prior to the performance, the women read out a statement that called for the repeal of South Korean abortion laws.
The women also asked that their right to abortion be guaranteed, including the distribution of pills like Mifegyne.
The women stated that “abortion is not taboo or sin” and that society punishes women by linking abortion to promiscuity and single women.
“Abortion is the most commonly performed surgery in the world and normal women choose to get abortions for various reasons,” continued the activists.
“Being able to get an abortion is a basic right for women.” One activist said that she wanted to live in a country where having abortions would not make her a criminal.
A college student who participated in the protest said that the practice of suppressing women with anti-abortion laws is an infringement of the basic human rights that all women are entitled to.
H. S. Seo (hsseo@koreabizwire.com)
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