South Korea's Constitutional Court rules: Pregnant women can identify the sex of their fetus at any time

　　China News Service, Seoul, February 28 (Reporter Liu Xu) The Constitutional Court of South Korea ruled on the 28th that Article 20, Paragraph 2 of the current Medical Act, which prohibits medical personnel from informing pregnant women or their families of the gender of the fetus before 32 weeks of pregnancy, is unconstitutional. , the judgment takes effect immediately.

As a result, pregnant women will be able to determine the sex of their fetus at any time regardless of their pregnancy weeks.

　　According to Yonhap News Agency's report on the 28th, on the same day, South Korea's Constitutional Court ruled that the clause prohibiting fetal gender identification before 32 weeks of pregnancy was unconstitutional.

In explaining the reasons for its decision, the Constitutional Court said, "With the improvement of women's socioeconomic status, the awareness of gender equality has gradually taken root, the national values ​​​​and consciousness have changed, and the traditional preference for boys over girls has significantly declined."

　　Six judges believed that it is no longer reasonable to restrict the identification of the gender of the fetus before 32 weeks of pregnancy as an act that directly threatens the life of the fetus or the stage before abortion.

This violates the parents’ right to know all information including the sex of the fetus.

　　The remaining three judges agreed with the majority opinion, but pointed out that there is still the possibility of requiring abortion on the basis of gender in Korean society, and the state cannot neglect its responsibility to protect unborn life from artificial termination of pregnancy.

　　According to reports, in order to prevent the imbalance of male-female ratio caused by selective abortion based on the mentality of favoring boys over girls, South Korea specifically added a clause prohibiting prenatal gender identification when revising the "Medical Act" in 1987.

In 2008, the Constitutional Court ruled that this provision was unconstitutional.

The following year, South Korea once again revised the "Medical Law" to allow medical staff to inform pregnant women of the gender of the fetus after 32 weeks of pregnancy.

　　However, in recent years, as South Korea's low birth rate has worsened and the preference for sons over daughters has faded, some people have proposed that informing the gender of the fetus should be allowed on a wider scale to ensure parents' right to know.

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