Currently, the Ministry of Education has not revised the standards for sex education or started making new materials for classes in a way that does not regard abortion as sinful. (image: Pixabay)
SEOUL, Jun. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — Two months have passed since the ban on abortion was ruled as unconstitutional, but high school classes still teach students that abortion is illegal.
Some have voiced criticism, saying that schools should inform students of the Constitutional Court’s recent decision, as teaching them that abortion is illegal is at best misleading.
Thus, critics claims that schools should revise their curriculum and teach students the correct information, even before the law is officially revised.
Standardized sex education class materials currently provided to high schools still explain the illegality, side effects and psychological aftereffects of abortion, suggesting “putting an infant up for an adoption” and “raising children without getting married” as alternatives to abortion.
Currently, the Ministry of Education has not revised the standards for sex education or started making new materials for classes in a way that does not regard abortion as sinful.
“Even if the it was decided that illegal abortion was against the constitution, schools cannot teach students to “go have abortion,” a ministry official explained.
“We can add things such as information about contraception or to be careful when choosing abortion.”
Experts agree that sex education should be conducted in such a way as to inform students of various options so that they can make their own judgments and reach reasonable decisions when they are actually pregnant.
Park Hyeon-I, department head of the Korea Youth Sexuality Culture Center, stressed the need for the groundwork to teach and discuss the pros and cons of the three options – adoption, keeping and raising the child, and abortion.
Prof. Woo Ok-yeong of Kyonggi University advised, “If you are pregnant, you should refrain from any education that attempts to give you answers such as ‘get an abortion and study,’ or ‘life is precious, so you should give birth and raise a baby.”
D. M. Park (dmpark@koreabizwire.com)
