- Author: Yang, Hyunah
- Title: The Importance of the Sexual and Reproductive Rights of the Un-wed Mothers & Women in Building the Reproductive Policy in Korea
- Language: Korean
- Journal: Korean Journal of Law & Society 74: 205-250
- Publication Year: 2023
- Publisher: Korean Law & Society Association
■ Abstract The Constitutional Court of Korea held that the crime of abortion in the criminal code was incompatible with the Constitution. This decision disclosed the sight of the absence of a systematic ‘sexual and reproductive rights’ policy in Korea. This article focuses on importance of the protection of un-wed mothers and un-wed women’s sexual and reproductive rights in building a system of policies protecting sexual and reproductive rights. This study sees the women who give birth outside legal marriages can be a barometer of those of entire Korean women. To summarize the main points of this article, firstly, it emphasizes that the Korean government needs to build a systematic policy as soon as possible based upon the people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights(SRHR) as it was delineated in the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment No.22(2016). Secondly, to accommodate international human rights norms and standards, a sociological approach is necessary suitable to the domestic social conditions. Thirdly, although current policy on the single mother has been somewhat systematized, its focus has been mainly on economic support, for vulnerable single parents, especially in their early stage. This article pays attention to the abolition of discrimination against, and realization of equality of, unmarried mothers and their families. Fourthly, for this purpose, this article emphasizes the importance of family policy including the law of children’s patrilineal surname; registration of a child; work and family balance; and assisted reproductive technology(ART). This way, the study suggests the paradigm changes such as from economic support to social equality so that the policy can support realization of the unmarried mother and women’s SRHR. |
