Sex-selective abortion in South Korea

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Sex-selective abortion is the act of aborting a child due to its predicted sex. This practice gained popularity in the mid-1980s to early 1990s in South Korea, where selective female abortions were commonplace as male children were preferred. As a result, South Koreans aborted a much higher number of female fetuses than male ones in the 1980s and early 1990s. [1] Historically, much of Korea's values and traditions were based on Confucianism, which dictates a patriarchal system, [2] thus motivating the preference for sons over daughters. Additionally, even though the abortion ban existed, the combination of son preference and availability of sex-selective technology led to an increasing number of sex-selective abortions and boys born. [2] As a result, South Korea experienced drastically high sex ratios around mid-1980s to early 1990s. [2] However, in recent years, with the changes in family policies and modernization, attitudes towards son preference have changed, normalizing the sex ratio and lowering the number of sex-selective abortions. [2] Additionally, during the entire 20th century South Korean women benefitted greatly from gender inequality declining at one of the fastest rates worldwide. [1] However, there has been no explicit data collected on the number of induced sex selective abortions performed due to the abortion ban and controversy surrounding the topic. Therefore, scholars have been continuously analyzing and generating connections among sex-selection, abortion policies, gender discrimination, and other cultural factors.

Contents

Reasons for sex-selective abortions

Cultural preference

During mid-Yi dynasty, Confucianism greatly influenced traditions and values in South Korea. Confucianism emphasizes respecting elders and upholds the traditional idea of the father to be the head of the household and bear the responsibilities of taking care of the family. Thus, this began the tradition of a patriarchal family lineage. In Korea, there is a popular saying, samjongjido, which translate to the idea that women follow three people in their lives: her father, her husband, and her son. As a result, women were often pressured by their family members and in-laws to give birth to sons that will take care of the family in the future and continue the family bloodline as daughters typically end up marrying into different families, with less of an opportunity to take care of her own parents. This corresponds to another famous saying, cheolgawein meaning when a girl marries, she becomes an outsider to her biological family. Additionally, she remains an outsider to her husband's family as well until she bears a son. Historically, when an emperor's wife did not bear the royal family a son, the emperor took on more concubines to increase the chances of producing a son. Thus, this marginalization of women into these subordinate roles with increased pressure to reproduce and give birth to sons perpetuated gender discrimination and son preference, ultimately leading to an increase in female selective abortions in South Korea during the mid-1980s. [2]

These cultural preferences continue to affect South Korean families years after the influence of Confucianism. In 1999, surveys have shown that 78% of Korean men and 70% of Korean women felt that having a son is necessary and desirable. While the rate of sex-selective abortions have slowed down after mid-1990s, gender discrimination and desire for sons prevailed. With that being said, with modernization, a series of law changes, and influence of western values in the early 2000s, attitudes towards traditional beliefs loosened. Younger generations were displaying more interest and preference for daughters for greater emotional connections, resulting in less prevalent sex-selective abortions and normalizing sex ratios. [2]

Population control policy and family law

In 1948, abortion was prohibited by law and critically observed. Later in 1961, South Korea implemented a population control policy, in hopes of curtailing the growing population and decreasing unwanted pregnancies. The government campaigned this through slogans promoting small families and decrease in poverty rates. However, with the criminalization of abortion, many women turned to induced abortions. Despite the legalities, clinics that performed abortions were prevalent throughout the country. [3] Thus, the availability of abortions, with the combination of motivation from the government to have fewer children and traditional patriarchal lineage preferences, many families opted to have sons rather than daughters.

Family registries in South Korea adopted the Hojuje (male headship system) until 2005. Any son or daughter that is born to a family, was listed under the father in the family registry. As a result, children born to single, unmarried mothers were often pressured to be listed under a male relative in order to have a place in the official family registry or risk being unlisted. For that reason, many families would rather have a son to indefinitely continue the family line than a daughter who might not hold that power. This changed in 2005 when the mandatory patrilineal lineage system was abolished, loosening the need for a son in the family. The sex of the child did not make such a pertinent impact on the succession of the family now and this contributed to the normalizing sex ratio and decrease in pressure for women to bear sons. [2]

Human birth sex ratio

The increase in sex-selective abortions led to a distorted human sex ratio, that shot up to 108.6 in 1985 and 112.5 in 1990. [4] These distortions had significant social and cultural effects on the demographics of South Korea. It is important to note that infant and child mortality may have had an effect on the high sex ration but the data is not significant enough to label it as a reliable reason for the high sex ratio as there were very few (9.9 in 1000 births in 1985) reported. [3]

Regional differences

Although, these distortions varied across different cities and provinces. High sex ratio was more common in the south-eastern part of the Korean peninsula. Youngnam, while less so in the south-western part of the peninsula, Honam. Reasons for this may be that Youngnam has fewer Protestant and Catholic churches, which are generally opposed to abortion rights, and has a long history of conservative cultural traditions. On the other hand, Honam is poor in terms of economic prosperity and political power compared to Youngnam, thus more likely to accept western values and new ideology. The author emphasizes that the religion of a given region is a factor in sex-selective abortions in South Korea. Buddhism is more similar to Confucianism and study showed that Buddhism is positively associated with the sex ratio at birth. However, later data depicts weaker effects of religion on sex ratio after 2000, with an overall decrease in sex ratio as well. [5]

Additionally, around 1985, sex ratios at birth rose sharply, particularly in Taegu and Pusan cities. The rural areas around them also exhibited a high sex ratio but at a slower pace. Taegu is fairly conservative with a history boasting three generals. Therefore, son preference is particularly strong there. Sex-selective abortion procedures also require fetal sex screening that is very expensive in South Korea and requires extensive medical equipment. As a result, a possible explanation for the lag in rising in rural areas may be due to lack of medical facilities in rural areas to determine the sex of fetus. [4]

Societal implications

Consequences of high sex ratio

With greater male births to female births, there is a fear of a shortage of brides in South Korea. Young rural men are having more difficulty finding wives due to majority of young women going to urban areas for better employment and quality of life. However, further studies have found that this phenomenon may be more likely due to the overall declining fertility levels in South Korea in the recent years, rather than sex-selective abortions. [4]

Another negative social implication may be the increased use of pornography due to rarity of women and greater sex related crimes of violence targeting women. With a greater scarcity of women, men may be more inclined and desperate to seek out female partners. [4]

Data has shown that small families usually consisted of more sons while larger families have more daughters. The continuation of this trend may widen the social gap between males and females in which sons in small families will have more resources and more advantageous opportunities than daughters in larger families where there are less resources. However, this may also not be as prevalent in South Korea where kinship and sibling support is strongly encouraged. [4]

Possible positive effects

On the other hand, there may be some positive implications as well. With sex-selective abortion, there is a reduction in number of unwanted children, preventing post neonatal infant mortality and abuse of girls. [4]

Sex-selection technology and methods

Prenatal sex screening

In 1987, fetal screening was only legal for detection for genetic problems and monitoring fetal growth but banned for the sole purpose of prenatal sex screenings. [3] Techniques included chronic villus sampling, amniocentesis, and ultrasounds. [4] However, since there were no substantive penalties for prenatal sex screenings besides a fine, many families were still finding ways to screen for their baby's sex. Additionally, fetal screening for medical purposes often inevitably show the sex of the baby as a byproduct. Scholars have made a connection between the emergence of ultrasound and sex screening technologies in the mid-1980s to the large increase in male births between 1985 and 1995. [3] In response to the high sex ratios, the government sharpened the penalties and in 1990, they arrested and suspended the medical licenses of physicians that performed these sex determination tests on fetuses. [4] Each selective abortion required at least two tests of sex determination and these tests were often very expensive. [4] Thus, not every women had equal opportunities to health care and abortion options. In combination with the high price of fetal screening and heightened penalties, the sex ratios began to lower and normalize after 1995, [4] suggesting lower rates of sex-selective abortions during that time.

Abortion methods

Due to the criminalization of abortion in South Korea, many women had to find ways around the law to receive an abortion. However, this wasn't as difficult as it may have seemed. Numerous clinics across Korea secretly performed abortions. [6] Despite possible health complications that could arise from receiving fast and cheap abortion procedures, women still sought out these clinics. Oftentimes, women would have an induced abortion early in pregnancy under the name of "menstrual extraction" in which a vacuum is used to suck the fetus out of the womb during the first trimester, resulting in heavy bleeding. [2] This procedure is controversial because it is performed without full certainty that the woman is actually pregnant since it is done so early in the term. Due to this, this process escapes the legalities behind abortion and is accepted in South Korea as part of "family planning" and "public health" services. [6] Scholars have noted that this accessibility of abortions perpetuated the continued performance of sex-selective abortions during the mid-1980s to 1990s. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sex-selective abortion</span> Pregnancy termination based on predicted sex

Sex-selective abortion is the practice of terminating a pregnancy based upon the predicted sex of the infant. The selective abortion of female fetuses is most common where male children are valued over female children, especially in parts of East Asia and South Asia, as well as in the Caucasus, Western Balkans, and to a lesser extent North America. Based on the third National Family and Health Survey, results showed that if both partners, mother and father, or just the father, preferred male children, sex-selective abortion was more common. In cases where only the mother prefers sons, this is likely to result in sex-selective neglect in which the child is not likely to survive past infancy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amniocentesis</span> Sampling of amniotic fluid done mainly to detect fetal chromosomal abnormalities

Amniocentesis is a medical procedure used primarily in the prenatal diagnosis of genetic conditions. It has other uses such as in the assessment of infection and fetal lung maturity. Prenatal diagnostic testing, which includes amniocentesis, is necessary to conclusively diagnose the majority of genetic disorders, with amniocentesis being the gold-standard procedure after 15 weeks' gestation.

Sex selection is the attempt to control the sex of the offspring to achieve a desired sex. It can be accomplished in several ways, both pre- and post-implantation of an embryo, as well as at childbirth. It has been marketed under the title family balancing.

Fetal rights are the moral rights or legal rights of the human fetus under natural and civil law. The term fetal rights came into wide usage after Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark case that legalized abortion in the United States and was essentially overturned in 2022. The concept of fetal rights has evolved to include the issues of maternal substance use disorders, including alcohol use disorder and opioid use disorder. Most international human rights charters "clearly reject claims that human rights should attach from conception or any time before birth." While most international human rights instruments lack a universal inclusion of the fetus as a person for the purposes of human rights, the fetus is granted various rights in the constitutions and civil codes of some countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human sex ratio</span> Ratio of males to females in a population

The human sex ratio is the ratio of males to females in a population in the context of anthropology and demography. In humans, the natural sex ratio at birth is slightly biased towards the male sex. It is estimated to be about 1.05 or 1.06 or within a narrow range from 1.03 to 1.06 males per female. The sex ratio for the entire world population is approximately 101 males to 100 females.

The child sex ratio in India is defined as the number of females per thousand males in the age group 0–6 years in a human population. Thus it is equal to 1000 x the reciprocal of the sex ratio in the same age group, i.e. under age seven. An imbalance in this age group will extend to older age groups in future years. Currently, the ratio of males to females is generally significantly greater than 1, i.e. there are more boys than girls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Missing women</span> Fewer women than expected in a population

The term "missing women" indicates a shortfall in the number of women relative to the expected number of women in a region or country. It is most often measured through male-to-female sex ratios, and is theorized to be caused by sex-selective abortions, female infanticide, and inadequate healthcare and nutrition for female children. It is argued that technologies that enable prenatal sex selection, which have been commercially available since the 1970s, are a large impetus for missing female children.

Abortion in China is legal at all stages of pregnancy and generally accessible nationwide. Abortions are available to most women through China's family planning program, public hospitals, private hospitals, and clinics nationwide. China was one of the first developing countries to permit abortion when the pregnant woman's health was at risk and make it easily accessible under these circumstances in the 1950s. Following the Chinese Communist Revolution and the proclamation of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the country has periodically switched between more restrictive abortion policies to more liberal abortion policies and reversals. Abortion regulations may vary depending on the rules of the province. In an effort to curb sex-selective abortion, Jiangxi and Guizhou restrict non-medically necessary abortions after 14 weeks of pregnancy, while throughout most of China elective abortions are legal after 14 weeks. Although sex-selective abortions are illegal nationwide, they were previously commonplace, leading to a sex-ratio imbalance in China which still exists.

Prenatal sex discernment is the prenatal testing for discerning the sex of a fetus before birth.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Female infanticide in Pakistan</span> Deliberate killing of female newborns in Pakistan

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abortion in South Korea</span>

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Son preference in China is a gender preference issue underpinned by the belief that boys have more value than girls. In China, the bias towards male over female offspring is demonstrated by the sex ratio at birth (SRB).

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References

  1. 1 2 Baten, Joerg; Schwekendieck, Daniel. "Height Development of Men and Women from China, South Korea, and Taiwan during the Rapid Economic Transformation Period of the 1960s to 1980s". Economics and Human Biology.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Chun, Heeran; Das Gupta, Monica (2009-03-01). "Gender discrimination in sex selective abortions and its transition in South Korea". Women's Studies International Forum. 32 (2): 89–97. doi:10.1016/j.wsif.2009.03.008. ISSN   0277-5395.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Lee, Jinkook; Smith, James P. (2018-04-01). "Fertility behaviors in South Korea and their association with ultrasound prenatal sex screening". SSM - Population Health. 4: 10–16. doi:10.1016/j.ssmph.2017.10.003. ISSN   2352-8273. PMC   5769124 . PMID   29349269.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Park, Chai Bin; Cho, Nam-Hoon (1995). "Consequences of Son Preference in a Low-Fertility Society: Imbalance of the Sex Ratio at Birth in Korea". Population and Development Review. 21 (1): 59–84. doi:10.2307/2137413. ISSN   0098-7921. JSTOR   2137413.
  5. ↑ Attane, Isabelle; Guilmoto, Christophe Z. (2007). Watering the neighbour's garden: the growing demographic female deficit in Asia (PDF). Paris, France: Cicred. pp. 183–203. ISBN   978-2-910053-29-1.
  6. 1 2 Kim, Min Joo (April 11, 2019). "South Korea court strikes down six decade old abortion ban". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
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