Protesters hold placards reading 'Abolish punishment for abortion' as they protest South Korean abortion laws in Gwanghwamun plaza in Seoul on July 7, 2018. efired/iStockphoto/Getty ImagesBy not passing abortion laws, the National Assembly is “not doing its job,” said Cho Hee-kyoung, a law professor at Hongik University in Seoul. Changing attitudes to abortionDespite the country previously having highly restrictive abortion laws, abortion has not historically been the lightning rod in South Korea that it has been in the United States. If overpopulation had once prompted the government to push abortions, South Korea was now dealing with the opposite problem. It is impossible to know the true number of abortions that take place each year in South Korea because the procedure is unregulated.

---

Persons: haven’t, It’s, Ed Jones, “, ”, Cho Hee, ” Cho, Nayoung, Cho, Jung Yeon, Susanné Seong, “ They’ve, Charlie Neibergall, ” Nayoung, SeongJoon Cho, Yoon Suk, she’d Organizations: Seoul CNN, vlogger, Seoul National Police, South Korean, YouTube, CNN, Getty, National Assembly, Hongik University, country’s Ministry, Justice, Health and Welfare Ministry, Health, Ministry, Welfare Ministry, World Bank, South Korea’s Institute for Health, Social Affairs, Human Rights Watch, Korea, Pharmaceutical Affairs, Supreme, Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, South, Bloomberg, Organization for Economic Cooperation, Development, HRW, Police Locations: Seoul, South Korea, Korean, Gwanghwamun, AFP, South, efired, “, United States, Jusarang, Ames , Iowa, Canadian, Korea